Daily Gospel Reflection
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July 15, 2019
Jesus said to his Apostles:
“Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth.
I have come to bring not peace but the sword.
For I have come to set
a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
and one’s enemies will be those of his household.
“Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me,
and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;
and whoever does not take up his cross
and follow after me is not worthy of me.
Whoever finds his life will lose it,
and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
“Whoever receives you receives me,
and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.
Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet
will receive a prophet’s reward,
and whoever receives a righteous man
because he is righteous
will receive a righteous man’s reward.
And whoever gives only a cup of cold water
to one of these little ones to drink
because he is a disciple–
amen, I say to you, he will surely not lose his reward.”
When Jesus finished giving these commands to his Twelve disciples,
he went away from that place to teach and to preach in their towns.
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. We should hear the words, “I have come to bring not peace but the sword,” in their proper context. Jesus is not calling for warfare or chaos, rather, he is assuring us that, as disciples, we will inevitably face opposition and sacrifice. The life of a disciple is a cross-shaped life.
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.
Prayer
We pray this day for all broken, wounded families, Father. There is so much that tears your people—our brothers and sisters—apart: bad relationships, violence, war, illness, religious fundamentalism, economics…oh, the list goes on and on. Lord, please have mercy on us all. Heal our divisions, mend our broken hearts, bring an end to all violence. Amen.
Saint of the Day
St. Bonaventure is one of the greatest minds the Church ever produced, and he seamlessly combined a love for truth with a love for God.
He was born in Italy in 1221 and became a Franciscan. He was educated at the University of Paris and went on to teach Scripture and theology there for nearly a decade before taking on leadership of his own order.
Bonaventure dedicated even more time to prayer than he did to his study, and people could feel a deep, inward peace about him. He was always cheerful and once said, “A spiritual joy is the greatest sign of the divine grace dwelling in a soul.”
He was ordained a priest and wrote several mystical works about prayer, poverty, and the path to holiness. Bonaventure wrote with such devotion and love that his works “warmed the heart,” said one scholar of his time. “Whoever would be both learned and devout, let him read the works of Bonaventure.”
He was a concise thinker who could strike to the heart of the matter. He frequently meditated on the joy of heaven, and his writing awoke in readers a desire for union with God. “God, all the glorious souls, and the whole family of the eternal King wait for us and desire that we should be with them,” Bonaventure wrote. “Shall not we desire above all things to be admitted into their happy company?”
He wrote of the perfection of Christian life, not by renouncing the world like a monk, but by simply doing ordinary things of our daily life very well. “The perfection of a religious person is to do common things in a perfect manner,” he wrote. “A constant fidelity in small things is a great and heroic virtue.”
Bonaventure is called the second founder of the Franciscans because he was able to guide the community through important matters of interpretation about the way of life they should lead. He wrote an authoritative biography of Francis.
The pope named Bonaventure a cardinal, and when the saint received news of the appointment, he was washing dishes in a convent where he was staying. The messengers were carrying the red hat of a cardinal (shown in this image from a Basilica mural), but his hands were greasy from the dishes. He had them hang it in a tree outside until he was finished, then he went and put it on, accepting the office.
When the pope called a council to discuss the unity of the Church with Greek faithful who had split from Rome, he asked Bonaventure to lead it. Bonaventure led a successful council but died during the celebrations.
The pope preached at his funeral and said, “No one ever met Bonaventure who did not find a great regard and affection for him. Even strangers wanted to follow his advice, just from hearing him speak. He was gentle, courteous, humble, pleasing to everyone, compassionate, prudent, chaste, and adorned with all virtues.”
Bonaventure has been declared a doctor of the Church, a title given to 37 saints who are known for elucidating the faith by their words or example. He is known as the "Seraphic Doctor" after the angels who are called the “burning ones” in Scripture, as his works communicated his burning love of God.
The relics of St. Bonaventure rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica, and the statue of him in his Franciscan habit (shown above) stands on Alumni Hall.
St. Bonaventure, you awoke in people a desire for the joy of heaven—pray for us!