I often like to say,
“There is only one thing in this life which cannot be redeemed and that is coffee which is made too weak.”
If coffee is too strong you can always add more water, but nothing can be done to fix coffee that is too weak. ...
It is irredeemable. This is an apt metaphor for this Sunday’s Gospel reading. Our heart must have an all-or-nothing commitment. If it is too weak, or double minded, it simply fails (James 1:7-8).
Jesus’ words in in this section of Matthew’s Gospel may be a bit puzzling if we do not see the context. Earlier in the chapter Jesus commissions the Twelve Apostles and sends them out on mission. Like all disciples in the ancient world, disciples are expected repeat the master’s words, to imitate him, and do the works that he did.
Jesus then warns his disciples that by following him they will face persecution, and he encourages them not to be afraid and to have courage. Jesus’ disciples will receive peace and inspiration from the Holy Spirit. Yet, our faith will be a cause of division in the world. In fact, Jesus has not come to bring peace but the sword (Matthew 10:34).
With this background in mind, our reading today, outlines the conditions for discipleship and the rewards of discipleship. The focus is not on our deeds, but on the fullness of the commitment of our heart. This is not a “to do list,” but a test of the heart.
The Conditions for Discipleship
Under the conditions for discipleship, Jesus repeats the theme of “being worthy” of him through our fundamental choice to follow him with our whole heart. Our deeds matter because the fruit of our heart is manifest by our actions. Our deeds reveal the condition of our heart.
In our second reading, St. Paul reminds us that by virtue of our Baptism we are joined to Christ in his death and resurrection so that “we too might live in newness of life” (Lectionary, Romans 6:4).
The word translated “live,” in our reading literally means to “walk,” and then as a figurative extension of this “to conduct one’s life, comport oneself, behave, live as habit of conduct.”[i] In rabbinic tradition, Jewish disciples were expected to follow the halacha or “walk” of their master by imitating both their way of life and their teachings.
The ritual of Baptism results in our being joined to Christ, and our being made one with him (Galatians 3:27). We receive a treasure of sacramental graces in our Baptism, but we must cooperate with these graces from our heart, to make them effective. We must consciously choose to “walk in newness of life.” As St Paul reminds us, “Consequently, you too must think of yourselves as dead to sin and living for God in Christ Jesus” (Romans 6:11).
Jesus tells us that the decision to walk in the newness of life and to be alive for God in Christ Jesus, is what makes us worthy to be called his disciples. The decision to follow Jesus with our whole heart, and to make him the center of our life is called an Act of Faith. We are called to “yield by faith the full submission of … intellect and will to God who reveals” (CCC 154).
Under the conditions for discipleship in our Gospel reading, Jesus points out that a heart which is not fully submitted to him, will attempt to put the love of father or mother, or the love of son or daughter above their love for Christ. Jesus tells us that such a disciple is “not worthy” of him. As Jesus warned in last Sunday’s reading, “…whoever denies me before others, I will deny before my heavenly Father” (Matthew 10:33).
Again, our external response, or our deeds, are a symptom of the heart. A heart which has not fully given itself to Christ, will deny him in many little ways. On the other hand, the heart fully committed to Jesus will not falter. I have met Christians who risked being disowned by their parents to become a Christian. Even today some new Christians in our world face imprisonment and even death, for such a conversion. I have also seen parents oppose their children who want to pursue God’s calling the priesthood of religious life, because of the parent's lack of faith.
A true act of faith is an all-or-nothing venture. It is not watered down, or halfhearted. It is a commitment to put Jesus before all else. Jesus reminds his disciples, “whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me” (Mt 10:38). While it is popular in our world to talk of even daily annoyances as “crosses” clearly Jesus has in mind here the ultimate sacrifice of martyrdom. Jesus paradoxically says, “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”
“Finding our life” by compromise with the world, will cause us to lose our life by being unworthy. Giving all to Jesus, even, if necessary, to the point of losing our life for his sake, will result in finding him in eternal life.
The Rewards of Discipleship
Its is likely that most of us think of rewards as a just response to our own efforts. We say to ourselves, “I earned this.” Yet when Jesus discusses the rewards of discipleship here, he is focused primarily on the fruit of the heart. As St. Paul pointed out, we are made one with Christ in Baptism, and we participate in his body. Jesus says, “Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me” (Mt 10:40). We are all joined in one body in Christ. All our actions are linked to Christ.
We are therefore rewarded for recognizing Christ in others. Here Jesus mentions a Christian prophet, a righteous man, and even a simple act like giving “a cup of cold water to one of these little ones” who happens to be his disciple. Jesus tells us, if our heart is truly given over to him, we will not lose our reward.
It would be a grievous error, however, to think our works are somehow earning our way to heaven. Only the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus can save us (Hebrews 7:27). We are each saved by receiving and cooperating with God’s unmerited grace, earned by Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross.
At the moment of death, there is a particular judgement by Jesus for each person. This judgement will determine if they are worthy of either heaven or hell (CCC 1022, 1051). All who die in God’s grace and friendship, are assured of salvation but may also need to undergo a purification before entering the joy of heaven (CCC 1030).
While we cannot earn our way to heaven by our own works apart from grace, at the second final judgement, all our earthly deeds will be judged. There will be different rewards for each of us. The saints will not be rewarded equally equal in heaven. For these works to count at all, however, they must be the fruit of a changed heart which flows from our faith in the graces we have received in the sacraments, and our decision to cooperate with these graces in faith. They result from a genuine conversion and walking in the newness of life.
Notes:
CCC = Catechism of the Catholic Church[i] William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 803.
