13th Sunday in Ordinary time 2026

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A few times each year, we hear a Gospel passage that makes us stop and say, "Wait a minute. Did Jesus really just say that?"

This is one of those Sundays.

Jesus says:

"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."

Those are difficult words.

Imagine if anyone else said them. Imagine if I stood up here and said, "You should love me more than your spouse, your children, or your parents." You would have every right to show me the door.

So why can Jesus say it?

Because Jesus is not just another teacher. He is not merely a prophet or a wise man. Jesus is God.

Only God has the right to claim first place in our lives.

Notice what Jesus is not saying. He is not telling us to love our families less. He is not telling us to neglect our responsibilities. He is not asking us to choose between Him and the people we love.

He is asking us to put Him first.

And there is a difference.

In fact, when we put Christ first, we become better husbands and wives, better parents and grandparents, better sons and daughters, better friends and neighbors.

The problem comes when we ask someone else to occupy the place that belongs to God alone.

Every disappointment in life eventually teaches us the same lesson. 

People we love can let us down. 

Children grow up and move away. 

Parents age and die. 

Friendships change.

Careers end. 

Health fails. 

Even the best things in life cannot carry the weight of being the center of our existence.

Only God can do that.

That is why Jesus tells us to love Him first—not because He wants less love for others, but because He wants us to love others properly.

Then Jesus takes the lesson one step further.

"Whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it."

The world tells us to put ourselves first.

Jesus tells us to give ourselves away.

The world tells us to chase comfort.

Jesus tells us to take up our cross.

The world tells us that happiness comes from getting what we want.

Jesus tells us that true joy comes from becoming the person God created us to be.

And deep down, we know He is right.

The greatest moments in our lives are rarely the moments when we were focused on ourselves. 

They are the moments when we sacrificed for someone we loved, served someone in need, forgave someone who hurt us, or remained faithful when it would have been easier to walk away.

That is the paradox of the Gospel: when we give our lives away in love, we discover who we truly are.

This weekend, our parish family is also experiencing a reminder of that truth as we prepare to say goodbye to Fr. Carter Pierce and welcome Fr. John Ojuok.

We are grateful for Fr. Carter and his ministry among us. We pray that God will bless him in his next assignment. 

At the same time, we look forward to welcoming Fr. John and receiving the gifts he will bring to our parish family.

But today's Gospel reminds us that our faith is not built on a particular priest. Priests come and go. Pastors come and go. Parishioners come and go.

Jesus Christ remains.

He is the one who must always come first.

And when He does, everything else falls into its proper place.

Jesus is not asking us to love our families less. He is asking us to love Him first, because only when God is first can everything else be loved as it should be.

And that is not a burden. It is the path to freedom, joy, and life itself.

Location: Morrisonville, NY, USA

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