Matthew 10:37-42| 13th Ordinary Sunday | Year A

The image of St. Christopher is familiar to many of us. He is often portrayed carrying the Child Jesus across a river. His very name means Christ-bearer; the one who carries Christ.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus speaks about taking up the cross and following him (Mt 10:38). We often understand the cross as the hardships, sufferings, or disappointments of life. Certainly, these are part of it. Yet perhaps the cross begins even earlier. Before carrying the cross, one must first carry Christ.

The apostles did not suffer simply because life was difficult. They suffered because they chose not to let go of Jesus. The cross was not the mission itself; it was the consequence of carrying the One whom the world did not always welcome. In other words, they carried Christ.

Perhaps this is why Jesus immediately speaks about receiving: “Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives the One who sent me” (Mt 10:40). Before Christ is carried into the world, he must first be received into the heart. One cannot bear Christ without first allowing oneself to be borne by him.

This raises a question. What am I carrying today?

Responsibilities, expectations, disappointments, fears, ambitions; even good and necessary things can slowly occupy the place that belongs to Christ. The heart can become so full that there is little room left for the One it desires to follow.

Jesus does not ask us to love our parents or family less. Rather, he asks that nothing; not even the most beautiful relationships; take the place that belongs to him alone (Mt 10:37). When Christ remains at the centre, love is not diminished; it is purified. We begin to love others without possessing them and to serve them without trying to become their saviour.

There is a quiet paradox in the Christian life. We think we are carrying Christ, yet gradually we discover that it is Christ who has been carrying us all along. Like a branch that draws its life from the vine (Jn 15:5), or a disciple who receives before he gives (Mt 10:40), the Christian life begins not with achievement but with communion.

Perhaps the deeper question is not whether I have accepted my crosses.

The deeper question is: Whom am I carrying?