Monday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Gospel text (Mt 10:34—11:1):
Today, Jesus offers us an explosive mix of recommendations; it's like one of those fashionable banquets where the dishes are small appetizers to be savored. This is profound and difficult-to-digest advice, intended for his disciples at the heart of their missionary formation and preparation (cf. Mt 11:1). To savor them, we must contemplate the text in separate sections.

Jesus begins by revealing the effect of his teaching. Beyond the positive effects, evident in the Lord's actions, the Gospel evokes the setbacks and side effects of preaching: "One’s enemies will be those of his household" (Mt 10:36). This is the paradox of living the faith: the possibility of clashing, even with those closest to us, when we do not understand who Jesus the Lord is, and do not perceive him as the Master of communion.

Secondly, Jesus asks us to occupy the highest level on the scale of love: "Whoever loves father or mother more than me..." (Mt 10:37), "Whoever loves son or daughter more than me..." (Mt 10:37). Thus, He invites us to allow ourselves to be accompanied by Him as the presence of God, since "whoever receives me receives the one who sent me" (Mt 10:40). The effect of living accompanied by the Lord, welcomed into our home, is to enjoy the reward of the prophets and the righteous, because we have welcomed a prophet and a righteous man.

The Master's recommendation ends by valuing the small gestures of help and support for those who live accompanied by the Lord, his disciples, which we all Christians are. "And whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones to drink because he is a disciple..." (Mt 10:42). From this advice arises a responsibility: regarding our neighbor, we must be aware that whoever lives with the Lord, whoever they may be, must be treated as we would treat Him. Saint John Chrysostom says: “If love were scattered everywhere, an infinity of goods would be born from it.”