Schegge di vangelo a cura di don Stefano Bimbi
Venerdì Santo a cura di Ermes Dovico

GOSPEL PEARLS

You will have no other God and ... honour your father and mother

Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. (Matthew 10: 37)

Schegge di vangelo 28_06_2020

Jesus said to his disciples: “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it. “Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Whoever welcomes a prophet as a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever welcomes a righteous person as a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.” (Matthew 10: 37-42)

With these words, Jesus does place the first commandment (love God above all things) in competition with the fourth (love one's parents). Rather, he is saying that our love of God must take priority. Being a gift from God, children also belong to Him and parents should not hinder their calling be His sons and daughters. All said, none of us belongs solely to ourselves, because the very source of the happiness we aspire to is not found inside us per se, but in God.