I have heard this saying repeated on numerous occasions: “The message of the Gospel afflicts the comfortable and comforts the afflicted.” At times, Christ offers us much consolation and in others he challenges us strongly with a clear and demanding message. We get many such examples in the Gospel according to St. Matthew
 
In today’s reading from the tenth chapter, Jesus issues a stern warning to his apostles: “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.”
 
Next Sunday, the 14 ^th Sunday of Ordinary Time, will offer a contrasting theme. We will listen to Jesus in the final verses of chapter eleven inviting us to come and find refuge and respite in him, especially those who are heavily burdened: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.”
 
It is not a matter of the Gospel message oscillating between opposite poles, but that Jesus is very attentive to the needs of his listeners, including us and contemporary audiences. The teaching in today’s reading is directed primarily at his disciples and, truly, all people who seek to follow him.
 
To follow Jesus authentically it is necessary to love him above and beyond everything and everyone. Only when this happens is one able to love without prejudice and conditions.
 
Adding to the weight of the commitment that the Lord calls us to, he stresses that it is right and just to take up your cross and follow him. In other words, it is necessary to keep strong and firm and not run and hide in the face of difficult situations. Taking up your cross and following Christ means we allow ourselves to engage life, including and especially the difficulties that others are facing as well as our own. In doing this, a person is better able to recognize his or her true character and discern how Jesus reveals himself along the way.
 
The Lord never promises that following him in life will be easy. It is a path that is often uphill and challenging and in the end we can often be exhausted. However, coming to Christ in search of rest and refuge corresponds to our needs and his desire.
 
It is necessary and just to value your life, but also important to thank the One who gives us that wonderful gift and blessing. Such gratitude makes it clear that we understand that more than being valued, we are loved.
 
The lesson of Jesus might sound harsh, but it demonstrates to us how life flourishes when our efforts and steps along the way provide actual examples of following Christ; when the forgetting of ourselves and our wants makes us remember how much God loves us. 
 
The comfort and consolation that Christ gives us is sweeter in the measure that we give of ourselves in service to those in need or are suffering and less to our own wants. We will experience fullness of life when we gratefully receive it as a gift from God and not consider it as a recompense we deserve.