Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time – June 28, 2026
Sr. Maureen O’Brien, SNDdeN
Matthew 10: 37-42
Matthew’s gospel, the first in the New Testament, focuses on the ministry of Jesus and his fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah. This Sunday’s Gospel, Matthew 10:37-42, known as ‘the missionary discourse’, draws us into an upper room in Capernaum, where Jesus is preparing his 12 Apostles for their lives in mission and their living out of his call to them to be disciples.
Some of Matthew’s words sound harsh in this Gospel. He states unequivocally that the price of true discipleship is the choice of Jesus before parents, family, and friends. I believe, that during his transformation from a tax collector to an enthusiastic disciple, what he witnessed during Jesus’ years of ministry, what he heard and saw shaped his understanding. Not one of the other three Evangelists shares Matthew’s opinion. They have other concerns, other words of advice about discipleship. Mark fears that the Apostles have not understood Jesus’ teachings. Luke does not want the Apostles to exclude women from discipleship. John always sees love as the motivating force in all that Jesus taught and did.
This year as I prepare to celebrate 70 years as a Sister of Notre Dame de Namur. I remember a train trip to Boston in 1964, and a meeting with my parents and siblings in a convent parlor – our version of a room in Capernaum. The train from Fairfield, CT was taking me on the way to talk to them about a letter I had just received from our Superior General about being missioned to Japan. Lots of tears flowed in that parlor as my parents and I, along with my siblings, imagined a scenario of separation with questions about whether we would ever see one another again. As difficult as it was for my parents, my mother supported me in choosing a mission to Japan.
When the weekend was over, I returned to Fairfield to tell my provincial about what my family said. I told her that the one laugh came when I read our Superior General’s comment in her letter that “I chose you for Japan because you’re stubborn enough to learn Japanese!” My major qualification was right out there. I was stubborn! To which everyone agreed.
Years later, after my mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer, I returned to the U.S. to care for her. Less stubborn perhaps; more grateful and blessed as a woman disciple!
Matthew 10: 37-42
“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.”
Meet Sister Maureen O’Brien, SNDdeN
