June 14, 2026; Matthew 9:36-10:8; 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time
We do not need to look far in our society to realize that more and more people are demeaning one another. More public figures in social media, business, and government are attacking those who think differently in ways that are insulting and humiliating. People are quickly being tagged as criminals, animals, vermin, all to assure us that they have no right to claim our respect or our care. Not long ago such vicious language would have been shocking, but more and more it is being accepted as normal speech.
Such speech is wrong. It is wrong not only because it is offensive and impolite. It is wrong because it is contrary to the gospel, contrary to what we believe. A fundamental commandment of Jesus is to love our neighbor as our self. That means that we are to recognize the dignity and value of others, just as we hold dignity and value for ourselves and for those that we love. People who choose to demean others violate this command of Jesus. It is like saying to another person “I am better than you. Your life, your dreams, your achievements are of no concern to me.” This attitude is not acceptable to followers of Jesus because we are impelled to see others as people of inherent value, as daughters and sons of God.
But holding up the inherent value of every person is difficult in a society that tolerates treating people like trash. Giving respect to those who think differently, act differently, pray differently or love differently can easily be seen as weakness or foolishness in a society that views slandering others as an act of strength. So how do we do it? How do we follow the command of Jesus?
Today’s Gospel can be helpful. It ends with a beautiful last line: “Without cost you have received, without cost you are to give.” This statement is telling us that if we recognize and are thankful for the things that we have received without cost, we will enable ourselves to give respect without cost to others. What did we receive without cost? A lot. Our life. None of us has to be here. The fact that we live in a free country with a positive standard of living. Anyone of us could have been born in a slum in a third world country. The fact that we have people who support us. Our family and friends are not required to love us. The more that we appreciate how many things have been freely given to us, the more we will enable ourselves to give respect to others. The opposite, of course, is also true. If we imagine that our life is our own achievement, if we think what we have and who we are is ours only because of our cleverness and hard work, it becomes easier to wonder, “Why should I care about anyone else?”
People who routinely demean other people are people who have lost touch with what they have received. Today’s Gospel challenges us to avoid such ingratitude. The Gospel knows that when we fill our heart with thankfulness for all that God has given us, we enable ourselves to give respect to others–we enable ourselves to love our neighbor as our self.