Gospel Reflection from Notre Dame

This passage is part of the missionary discourse, one of five major discourses in Matthew’s Gospel. Jesus is preparing his twelve disciples for the rough road ahead of them. Part of the challenge of discipleship is giving our loyalty to Christ above all other loyalties and loves.

This life of sacrifice can be intimidating, but, as the last part of this gospel passage teaches us, Jesus accepts gifts of any and all amounts—gifts of the prophet, of the righteous man, and even the cup of water. However small our gift, it expresses and strengthens our loyalty and love to the one who brings peace.

Later in this same gospel, Jesus forms a new family when he points to his disciples and says, “‘Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother” (Mt 12:46-50). While debate and disagreement surround us on our campus and in our country, I have grown increasingly in awe of the startling reality that regardless of our differences—homelands, majors, pastimes, political views, you name it—we are united more intimately than we could ever be divided, because we are one family in the Body of Christ.