The common theme for today’s readings is the missionary mandate that we have received from God. While there will be many challenges along the way, we are assured that our efforts and sacrifices will not go without reward.
The first reading (2 Kings 4: 8-11, 14-16) has a similar setting with that of the earlier encounter of Abraham with the three strangers (the three persons of God) passing his way while he was sitting under the Terebinth of Mamre. It was his act of generosity that opened a new page in his life and began the history of the people of Israel. Because of his generosity, the three visitors promised Isaac, a son of his old age, and the eventual father of Jacob, the father of the 12 tribes.
Today’s story of the Shunemmite woman reveals how the act of generosity can turn into a divine investment. Shunem was a small village of the Tribe of Issachar. It was located near the Jezreel Valley, north of Mount Gilboa, which was mentioned in Joshua 19:18. It was the same village where the Philistines camped when they fought Saul, the first king of Israel (1 Samuel 28:4). The encounter of the prophet Elisha with this woman, whose name was not revealed by the author, shows how righteousness can be discovered in almost any invisible and unknown corner of the land.
The woman and her husband were used to seeing travelers pass their way while traveling to Shunem. Elisha had made this trip many times but never knew that he was being watched from the upper room of this home on the outskirts of town. On today’s occasion, the Shunemmite women told her husband, “Behold, I have come to realize that this is a holy man of God who is continually passing our way.” Holiness can never be hidden, and this holiness is contagious, no matter the distance. They decided to prepare a small room for Elisha and his servant and made it available to them any time that they were in the area.
After many occasions of repeated kindness and hospitality by the couple, the prophet felt that they, too, deserved a small token of appreciation. He sent Gehazi, his servant, to ask the woman if there was anything she would like him to tell the King. She told him that that was not necessary. A second time, the prophet asked his servant, “what then is to be done for her?” Gehazi told him that, “she has no son, and her husband is getting on in years. Elisha called for her and told her, “This time next year you will be fondling a baby son.”
The second reading (Romans 6:3-4, 8-11) continues the theme of missionary mandate. Paul reminds the Roman Christians, and us, that by Baptism we have been baptized into Jesus’ death, buried with him, and now look forward to resurrection with him. As Jesus died to sin, we, too, must be dead to sin and live for God. We are reminded that those who care for the followers of Jesus are caring for Jesus himself. And like the Shunemmite woman, those who show hospitality to any one of God’s children will be eligible for a reward.
Continuing the theme of missionary mandate, the Gospel (Matthew 10:37-42) presents the last part of the instructions given by Jesus to his apostles as they are about to embark on their first missionary journey into the Villages of Galilee and Judea. The teaching is divided into two parts; the first part relates to the attitude required of the apostles, the newly commissioned missionaries; while the second part is the reward that awaits the messengers of the Gospel.
Jesus tells his messengers, ‘I know that you love your parents, your sons and daughters, but since I have chosen you, you must love me more than any of those. Now you are going away. You must be detached from any form of affection and distraction that could draw you back. That is the only way to be focused on me. You can only be able to represent me, wherever you are going, only if you allow yourselves to be drawn into a bond of love with me.’
Jesus explains that this is the meaning of carrying one’s cross to go after him. There is no cross that can be as heavy as moving away from one’s home and sometimes being unable to be physically present when they need of him the most. This is the cross Jesus is handing over to his apostles today. He made them understand that though they love their mothers, fathers, and sons and daughters, on no account should these be loved more than Him.
While some people are called to move away from family and friends, we must understand that you do not need to move far from home before we can be a missionary. Our families, our places of work, the people we meet, these are all fertile grounds for missionary action. We all can make Jesus known to all the people with whom we interact.
The Shunemmite family never knew that the food and shelter they were giving out to the prophet was an investment for divine favor. They may have been wealthy, we do not know, but without a son, their family had no future. Their encounter with the prophet gave God an opening to show how much more generous He can be when we are generous to others.
Jesus redefines the value of generosity today: “He who welcomes you welcomes me.” Many people have gotten used to peeping from the windows of their homes to see the sufferings of the others simply as something different from their own fortune. They open their doors wide only for those of their liking, while the rest of the world can remain outside. They are content to say that they cannot solve the problems of poverty, the problems of humanity. The Shunemmite woman instead was able to discover God in the poor and weary stranger and treated him like a king. This became the end of her childlessness.
Let’s be aware that Christ will not always come to us in clerical garb. He often prefers the face of that stranger, that neighbor, that social outcast, that sick person dying in loneliness. They are the mobile tabernacle of the presence of God. Let us unlock our doors and offer the suffering a cup of cold water. Perhaps that stranger is God in our midst.
May God Bless You and Grant You His Peace!