Homily for the 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)
“When Love Becomes the First Priority”
Friends in Christ,
Today’s liturgy places before us a radical truth that the modern world struggles to accept: faith in Christ is not an addition to life—it is the reordering of life itself.
The Gospel from the Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 10:37–42) contains some of the strongest words of Jesus: “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me… Whoever does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.”
At first hearing, these words may sound harsh. But Jesus is not calling us to hate our families. He is calling us to the right order in love.
Because when love is disordered, life becomes disoriented.
Christ is not one love among many—He is the foundation of all love. Jesus is saying: If I am not first, nothing else will truly hold together. Many people try to build life around family, career, comfort, or success. But Jesus reminds us that even the best human relationships collapse when they are not rooted in God.
To love Christ first is not to love others less—it is to love them more deeply, more purely, and more truthfully.
When Christ is first:
- Family becomes sacred, not possessive
- Love becomes self-giving, not controlling
- Sacrifice becomes meaningful, not bitter
Also, the Cross is not an interruption—it is the path. Jesus says: “Whoever does not take up his cross and follow me…” The cross is not only suffering. It is love that refuses to give up.
We often pray for a life without crosses, but the Gospel today reveals something deeper:
There is no discipleship without the cross, because there is no real love without sacrifice.
St. Paul expresses this beautifully in the Letter to the Romans (Romans 6:3–4, 8–11):
We are baptized into Christ’s death so that we may rise into new life.
So the question is not: “Do I have a cross?”
The question is: “Am I carrying it with Christ or running from it?”
The mystery of small gestures: God hides in the ordinary. The first reading from the Second Book of Kings (2 Kings 4:8–11, 14–16) tells us about a Shunammite woman who offers hospitality to the prophet Elisha. She does something simple: she opens her home. She offers food, space, and kindness. Nothing dramatic. No miracle in sight.
Yet that small act becomes a doorway to blessing: she receives a promise of life where there was barrenness. Jesus echoes this in the Gospel:
“Whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones… will surely not lose his reward.”
God is telling us something very important:
He is not only found in heroic acts, but in ordinary love done with extraordinary faith.
- A visit to the lonely
- A patient word in family conflict
- A hidden act of generosity
- A silent forgiveness
- A small sacrifice made in love
These are not small in the eyes of God.
The real test: what comes first?
Today’s readings confront us with a question that cannot be avoided:
What or who comes first in my life?
Not what I say—but what I live.
Because discipleship is not measured by words, but by priorities:
- When faith conflicts with convenience—what wins?
- When truth conflicts with popularity—what do I choose?
- When God calls and comfort resists—who do I follow?
Jesus is not asking to be part of our lives.
He is asking to be the center of our lives.
A life that is lost becomes found in Christ. Jesus ends the Gospel with a promise:
Whoever welcomes a prophet, a righteous person, or even a little disciple, will receive a reward. In other words, nothing done in love is wasted. Nothing done for Christ is forgotten.
So today, the Lord invites us to a decision:
- To love Him above all else
- To carry our crosses with courage
- To find Him in simple acts of kindness
- To trust that every sacrifice made in love will bear eternal fruit
May we leave this Eucharist not merely inspired, but reordered.
So that in our lives, one truth becomes clear:
Christ is not one priority among many.
He is the foundation of every true priority.
Amen.
