Saturday of Week 14 of Ordinary Time – Gospel
24“A disciple is not above the teacher nor a slave above the master; 25it is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher and the slave like the master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household!
26“So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered and nothing secret that will not become known. 27What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops. 28Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, fear the one who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30And even the hairs of your head are all counted. 31So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.
32“Everyone, therefore, who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven, 33but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven.
Commentary on Matthew 10:24-33
We continue Jesus’ apostolic discourse to his Apostles and all those who do the work of evangelisation. He reminds them very clearly that they can expect no better treatment than he himself received as:
A disciple is not above the teacher nor a slave above the master…
All in all, Christians are to show no surprise at violence and abuse against them. But at times, it can be hard to understand. However, if they treated the Master and Lord in this way, his followers can expect no better treatment. If the Master is called the Prince of Devils, how much more those of his family! Remember what Jesus had said earlier:
Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness… (Matt 5:10)
Much of Jesus’ teaching to his disciples was done quietly and away from the crowds. He frequently told both people he cured and demons not to speak about him. Even his disciples were not to reveal his identity as Messiah. People at that stage were not ready and could have misinterpreted the true meaning of his teaching.
Also, his message could not be fully understood until he had completed his mission through his passion, death and resurrection. Only that would put his teaching into its proper context. But in the course of time, it will be all made public.
Later on it will be the duty of his disciples to deliver the message in its entirety and without fear. The Christian community, although consisting of initiates with a way of life that is not always understood by outsiders, has no secrets. The ‘mysteries’ that Paul and others speak of are truths, previously unknown, which have been revealed. They are not like those of the so-called ‘mystery religions’ of the time or of secretive societies in our own. The message of Christ is to be made known to all in its entirety, even in hostile environments.
Some of those who proclaim the Gospel are going to be threatened even with losing their lives—a fact that is testified to by a long list of martyrs (martyr, Greek for ‘witness’) over the centuries. Jesus is saying that physical death is not the worst thing that can happen to a person. It is a reality we are all going to have to face sooner or later anyway. Far worse than physical death is the loss of one’s soul—the death of one’s integrity. There are some values which transcend our physical survival. To betray such a value in order to live a bit longer is to lose one’s soul. Many, many martyrs have clearly understood this.
Jesus is telling us that, even though we may, as he himself did, lose our lives, he will be with us. To be unfaithful to our deepest beliefs and convictions is a fate worse than death.
