The Sánchez Archives THIRTEENTH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME Year A

By
Patricia Datchuck Sánchez

WELCOMING THE MESSAGE AND THE MESSENGER

2 KINGS 4:8-11
ROMANS 6:3-4, 8-11
MATTHEW 10:37-42

Years ago, on a trip through the Amish country of Pennsylvania, I took the occasion to visit several of the shops. Many of them had signs of greeting hung on the door or in the window which read, “Welcome! There are no strangers here -- only friends we haven’t yet met.” In keeping with the sign was the warmth and kindness with which visitors were received and tended to. Unfortunately, hospitality such as this has become an uncommon, albeit pleasant surprise in today’s world. But it was not always so. In ancient times, hospitality was considered a sacred duty and in scripture the patriarchs were cited as models of this virtue (Genesis 19:2; 24:17-33; 43:24). Recall, in particular, the visit of Yahweh to Abraham (Genesis 18:2-8); Abraham and Sarah’s generous welcome of their guests was rewarded with the promise of a son.

As Xavier Leon-Dufour (Dictionary of Biblical Theology), Geoffrey Chapman, London: 1973) once explained, Hospitality was to be valued as a work of mercy as well as a means of witnessing to the faith. The visitor who traveled through and requested assistance (Proverbs 27:8, Sirach 29:21-27) was to be regarded as a living reminder of Israel’s former struggle as enslaved strangers in Egypt (Leviticus 19:33-34). The stranger in need was also to remind Israel of its present status as a wandering pilgrim on earth (Psalm 39:13, Hebrew 11:13, 13:14).

Visitors were to be welcomed and treated with love in the name of God who loves all peoples (Deuteronomy 10:17-19). Rather than treat the visitor as a burden or debtor (Sirach 29:24-28), or as someone to be mistrusted (Sirach 11:34) and an occasion for complaining (1 Peter 4:9), hosts were to take pleasure in welcoming those who could not compensate them for the services they offered (Luke 14:13). No sacrifice was considered too great, no visit untimely or inconvenient; if a host found that he/she did not have sufficient food on hand to provide a generous meal for his unexpected guests, he/she would not hesitate to call upon a neighbor for assistance (Luke 11:5-8).

In the early church, every Christian (1 Timothy 5:10) and in particular the bishop (1 Timothy 3:2, Titus 1:8) was to regard the one knocking at the door (Revelation 3:20) as the Son of God coming to make his dwelling in the home (John 14:23).

In the powerful last judgment scene in the Matthean gospel, hospitality appears to be the standard by which individual futures will be decided. Gifts as simple as water for the thirsty, food for the hungry, a welcome to a stranger, clothing and shelter will have eternal repercussions; remembers Jesus’ words: “whatever you did for one of these least brethren of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:40).

In today’s gospel, the Matthean Jesus impresses upon his disciples the importance of hospitality; those who labor for the sake of the gospel are to be provided with a ready welcome by those to whom they minister.

The author of the first reading illustrates the fact that generous hospitality will not go unnoticed; God in his magnanimous generosity shows himself the ultimate host and care-giver.

Paul, in the second reading, glories in the mystery of baptism whereby believers enter into the death and rising of Jesus so as to live a new life. Despite the fact that Paul, as God’s emissary, was often treated inhospitably, he never tired of trying to seek a welcome for the good news. Shall he find that welcome here among us today?

2 KINGS 4:8-11, 14-16

In her commentary on this excerpted pericope from 2 Kings, Claudia V. Camp calls the unnamed woman from Shunem “remarkable”. She is both “independent and maternal, powerful and pious. She brings to mind a number of other female characters, yet surpasses them all. She is observant in both practical and spiritual ways: she notices not only Elisha’s regular passing through Shunem but also the aura that marks him as a man of God.” (“1 and 2 Kings”, The Women’s Bible Commentary Westminster, John Knox Press, Louisville: 1992). Described in today’s first reading as “a woman of influence” (vs. 8), the Shunemite was obviously a woman of means as well. She was able to offer hospitality to Elisha on a permanent basis, as indicated by the furnished room with bed, chair and lamp and the promise of meals each time he visited.

Readers of the books of Kings will notice that this episode is but one in a series of similarly wondrous events, performed by both Elijah and his successor, Elisha. Each event underscored the authenticity of the prophets and the effectiveness of the word of God which they communicated.

The power of God’s word to effect what it declared is one of the underlying principles informing all of the Deuteronomic history (Joshua-Kings). The Deuteronomist has drilled this principle into the consciousness of his readers by relating 45 different prophetic prediction-fulfillment stories spread over the two books of Kings. “The cumulative effect of these stories is such that the reader cannot doubt that once the Word of the Lord has gone forth it will be fulfilled infallibly.” (Peter Ellis, “1 and 2 Kings”, The Jerome Biblical Commentary, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs: 1968).

The title, “holy man of God” by which the woman from Shunem described Elisha is also an illustration of the Deuteronomist’s understanding of God’s word. Earlier in Kings, Elijah was similarly portrayed. After the son of the widow of Zarephath died, Elijah prayed to God for his life. As God’s prophet and spokesperson, his words proved effective and the dead son was resuscitated. Upon seeing her son alive once more, the woman declared, “Now indeed I know that you are a man of God. The word of the Lord comes truly from your mouth” (1 Kings 17:24). Recall also, the description of Samuel, called by God to be his prophet, “Samuel grew up and the Lord was with him, not permitting any word of his to be without effect.” (1 Samuel 3:19) “In other words”, as Reginald Fuller explains, “to be a holy man of God in the Old Testament does not signalize mystical achievement but means to be the bearer of god’s word, a word which is truth, i.e. not that it passes the test of doctrinal orthodoxy but that it effects what it says on the plane of history.” (Preaching the New Lectionary, The Liturgical Press, Collegeville: 1974).

The theme of hospitality which threads through today’s readings challenges contemporary hearers of God’s effective word to make a ready welcome for it in their lives.

ROMANS 6:3-4, 8-11

When this section of Romans is read in its entirety (6:3-11) at the Easter Vigil, it represents a turning point in the vigil liturgy. Until this point all the readings have been from the Hebrew scriptures, recounting the narratives of creation and the fall, the story of Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice Isaac, the passage of Israel from slavery to freedom, the promises of the prophets regarding God’s willingness to forgive and save his people, etc. But, at this point, as the readings shift from the Hebrew to the Christian scriptures, that which had formerly been presented in prophetic terms or as type (symbolic prefigurement of what would occur later) now yields to fulfillment -- “hence the rubric requiring that the altar lights be lit at this point. The basic significance of the vigil service lies in the experience of this turning point. This is the transitus, the passing from darkness to light, from death to life, from bondage to freedom, from the old age to the age to come.” (Reginald Fuller, op. cit.)

Believers are able to experience this transitus or transition from death to life by participating in Jesus’ transitus from death to life through baptism. In the early church, the baptismal ritual itself graphically represented the theological reality it signified. Generally, baptism by total immersion was the norm; as the catechumen entered the baptismal waters, his/her descent significed that he/she was dying to sin in Christ. As the believer emerged from the waters and was clothed in a white robe, his/her ascent was symbolic of the risen life in Jesus he/she now experienced through baptism.

Paul, in today’s second reading, reminds his readers who have welcomed Christ in faith, and have been welcomed by him into the mystery of his death and resurrection, that the sacramental experience of baptism must be translated into the reality of their every day lives. Baptized Christians are to live in accordance with what they have become in baptism, viz. sharers in Christ’s victory over sin and death and participants in a new life with God.

When the German Reformer, Martin Luther (1483-1546) experienced periods of difficulty which threatened to defeat the integrity of his faith and commitment to Christ, he reminded himself repeatedly, “Baptizatus sum. . . I am baptized.” As such, he recalled his status as a loved child of god, a temple of the Holy Spirit, a sinner justified by Christ and a sharer in his victory over sin and death. Heartened by this recollection, Luther was encouraged to continue the struggle of keeping his daily life consonant with his sacramental beginnings. Today, Luther’s self-reminder and Paul’s words to the Romans invite us to consider if the effects of our baptism are still being manifested in our day to day activities and concerns.

MATTHEW 10:37-42

Shooting the messenger, when the message he carried was unwelcome, was not an uncommon occurrence in the ancient world. Indeed, by the time the oral gospel tradition preserved by the Matthean community, was converted to written form in the 80s C.E., messengers of the good news of Jesus were already suffering for the sake of their message.

In the mid-80s C.E. Jewish Christians, whose acceptance of Jesus as messiah was regarded as heretical by orthodox Judaism, were formally ousted and banned from the synagogue. Up to that point in time, Christianity had been tolerated by Rome as an off-shoot or sect of Judaism, a licit religion, tolerated by the empire. But after the Edict of Jamnia, the breach between church and synagogue was well defined and left the Christians prey to persecution for being practitioners of a faith ruled illicit by Rome. No doubt, the Matthean community recognized their rejection by Judaism and the subsequent persecution by Rome as an experience of the cross Jesus had promised (vs. 38).

Christian discipleship had wreaked havor in many personal lives as well. Belief in and acceptance of Jesus required a radical commitment which superseded all other commitments and relationships, even those as binding and precious as parent and child. The gospel does not advocate a harsh abandonment of familial ties (vs. 37) and responsibilities but places the commitment to Christ over and above all. Indeed, it would seem that the heart which was first dedicated to Christ would then become more capable of loving family members and all others with a fuller and more selfless love.

The third statement concerning the cost of discipleship (vs. 39) counsels against spending one’s energies solely for self-aggrandizement and personal fulfillment. In the end, the person who seeks only himself/herself is alone, but the believer who spends time, treasure and talent for Christ finds his true identity and fulfillment in Christ.

The remainder of the gospel is concerned with the reception accorded to the message of the gospel and its messengers. “Who welcomes you welcomes me” (vs. 40) is an important phrase “because it explains the nature of the apostolic office on the legal principle governing a Jewish emissary: ‘A man’s agent is like himself’ (Mishna Berakot 5.5). It deepens the religious basis of the apostolate by deriving it ultimately from God himself in a cascading succession, mediated by Jesus who is himself the apostle of the Father” (Benedict T. Viviano, “The Gospel According to Matthew”, The New Jerome Biblical Commentary, Prentice Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs: 1990).

In addition to the apostles, (the “you” of vs. 40), this gospel names three other categories of those who should receive a hospitable welcome. Prophets (vs. 41), as spokespersons for God were to be welcomed because the message they bore was for the well-being of the community. The Didache (also called the Teaching of the Lord to the Gentiles Through the Twelve Apostles), a document on church life which appeared within a generation of the Matthean gospel (ca. 100 C.E.) offers further advice: “As regards missioners and charismatists (sic), according to the gospel directions this is how you are to act. Every missioner who comes to you should be welcomed as the Lord, but he is not to stay more than a day, or two days if it is really necessary. If he stays for three days, he is no genuine missioner” (Didache 11).

Besides prophets, holy people (vs. 41, other translations render this category as just or righteous people) are to receive a welcome because of the quality of their witness to Christ. Finally, the lowly ones (vs. 42) or insignificant members of society, including the poor, those without rights and the disadvantaged are to be especially received and cared for. Throughout his ministry, Jesus showed the Father’s penchant for the lowly; the church which professes him in faith can do no less.

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