Homily – 13th Sunday – Year A – Fr Jerry Browne (National Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies #Southafrica #swaziland #eswatini #Botswana)
Over the past few weeks, many migrants and foreign nationals living in South Africa have been forced to flee their homes or live in constant fear. It is painful to comprehend that a nation which suffered so deeply under apartheid could now allow others to experience rejection simply because they are seen as different.
Those organising the marches planned for 30 June speak of unemployment, crime, pressure on public services and fear about the future. These concerns should not simply be dismissed.
But there is a dangerous line that must never be crossed. Fear can become suspicion. Suspicion can become hatred. Hatred can become violence directed at people simply because they come from another country.
As Christians, we cannot remain silent. Our response must not be shaped by anger, fear, popular opinion or political slogans. It must be shaped by the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Today’s readings could hardly be more relevant. In the first reading (2 Kings 4:8–11, 14–16), we meet the woman of Shunem. She notices the prophet Elisha passing by and insists that he stop and eat whenever he comes through. Later, she persuades her husband to build a small room where he can rest. She asks for nothing in return. She simply recognises a servant of God and opens her home.
Her generosity is quietly transformative. Elisha promises that, despite years of disappointment, she will have the son she had long desired. The point is not that hospitality always brings material rewards. The point is deeper: when we make room for God and for God’s people, our own lives are enlarged in ways we could never have imagined.
Biblical hospitality is never only about food or shelter. It is about recognising God’s presence in another person. That same message is echoed in today’s Gospel (Matthew 10:37–42), when Jesus says: “Whoever welcomes you welcomes me and whoever welcomes me, welcomes the one who sent me.” Those words should stop us in our tracks.
Christ identifies himself with all who come to us in need: the stranger seeking friendship, the refugee searching for safety, the visitor who knows no one, the elderly neighbour who feels forgotten, the child who is excluded, and the foreign national trying to build a life with dignity. Every act of welcome offered to them is an act of welcome offered to Christ himself.
St Benedict, in his Rule for monasteries, wrote: “Let all guests who arrive be received as Christ.” That remains one of the most challenging Christian principles ever written.
The second reading, Romans 6:3–4, 8–11, explains why Christians see the world differently. Through Baptism we have died with Christ and been raised to a new life. That new life changes the way we see every person. We can no longer judge according to race, nationality, tribe or usefulness. We belong to Christ before we belong to any nation.
So we must ask ourselves a difficult question today. If Jesus arrived in South Africa as a refugee, a migrant worker or a foreign national seeking safety, how would we receive him? Would we recognise him? Or would we tell him that he does not belong?
This week our parish continues to pray especially for migrants, refugees and foreign nationals living among us. Many have fled war, persecution or desperate poverty. Others have come seeking honest work to support their families. Their stories may be different from ours, but their dignity is exactly the same.
The Church has always understood herself to be a home for every nation and every people. Around this altar there are no foreigners. There are only brothers and sisters united by one Lord, one faith and one Baptism.
As we come forward to receive Christ in the Eucharist today, let us ask the Lord to give us the courage to speak when words of hatred are spoken, the compassion to welcome those who feel alone, and the wisdom to build communities where justice and mercy walk together.
For in welcoming the stranger, we welcome Christ himself.
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Please consider praying a decade of the rosary on a daily basis for the evangelising Mission of the Church and the Pope’s intentions.
The pope’s prayer intention for June is ‘For the values of sports’.
Let us pray that sports be an instrument of peace, encounter, and dialogue among cultures and nations, and that they promote values such as respect, solidarity, and personal growth.
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Blessed Pauline Jaricot, Pray for us. 🙏🏼🙏🏼
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