Monsignor Enrique Díaz Díaz shares with Exaudi readers his reflection on the  Gospel of this Sunday, June 28, 2026,   entitled:  “I will proclaim the Lord’s mercy without ceasing .”

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II Kings 4:8-11, 14-16:  “This man is a man of God”

Psalm 88:  “I will continually proclaim the mercy of the Lord”

Romans 6:3-4, 8-11:  “Baptism buried us with Christ so that we might live a new life.”

Matthew 10:37-42:  “Whoever does not take up their cross is not worthy of me. Whoever receives you receives me.”

When we hear Jesus’ demands for following him, we may be surprised because he allows neither hesitation, nor doubt, nor mediocrity. He demands passion for the Kingdom. Passion, which is like flying, is a continuous movement toward the heights, with a thirst for the infinite. If we stop flying, we fall into the abyss. Anyone who thinks the Gospel is boring hasn’t understood it at all. The Gospel is passion, commitment, an ideal.

Anyone expecting a gentle, easygoing Jesus is sorely mistaken. He is merciful and very approachable, but not easygoing. For Jesus, there are no ambiguities; everything must be crystal clear and unequivocal: either you are with Him, or you cannot claim to be His disciples. We are accustomed to making compromises and resolving problems behind closed doors or in the shadows—that is, without the necessary clarity and truth. Today, we call ourselves disciples of Jesus, but we do not fight for life, for justice, and for truth. Sometimes we try to hide this radical nature of Jesus’ Gospel within structures, customs, and appearances. However, Jesus’ words ring out as strong and demanding: “Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me.” And let us remember what the cross of Jesus signifies: a complete surrender so that all people may have life. And this should be the standard by which we judge whether we are true disciples of Jesus: whether we strive and fight so that all human beings may have life in its fullness. If our efforts are focused on caring for and building a common home for all people, where each person can live with dignity, with sufficient guarantees of security, education, food, and health, only then can we call ourselves disciples of Jesus.

There are those who have fully grasped the radical nature of following Jesus, like Saint Paul, who, even amidst grave aggression and threats, lived it with joy and hope. Today he reveals to the Romans the experience that sustains and animates him:  “Through baptism we were buried with Christ… so that we might live a new life.”  There are structures of death and structures of life. Saint Paul affirms that we must die to those structures that inherently contain death, that do not lead to the Kingdom, but rather bear the mark of sin and destruction. The structures of the world “seem” to give life, but they offer it incompletely and only for a few. Yet they fascinate us and penetrate our hearts as ideals and forces opposed to what Jesus desires. Paul understands this and lives it radically, to such a degree that he says he is dead to the world, yet living a life of fullness in Jesus. And each of us is also called to follow Jesus in this same way: to discover what He has done for us, to fall in love with His ideal, and to persevere despite the difficulties. The warnings Jesus gives us today are not intended to destroy the family or to disregard respect for parents or children. They are meant to show us that love for the truth and the kingdom cannot be confined to conventional ties, but must be based on true love.

Jesus is the man who knows how to live amidst conflict and from there build the Kingdom. Following Jesus demands a radical renunciation, even unto death, of our own instincts and ambitions. It is not against the search for happiness and a full life, but against an incomplete and false life that is based on power, pleasure, or possessions. And this can lead to conflicts, as clearly demonstrated by those who openly choose to defend life and the dignity of every person. It may seem simple, but like Jesus, they must confront all those who commit so many acts of aggression against life, whether they be commercial, economic, or political powers, or simply the agents of terrorism who roam with impunity throughout our country. Defending life today, as in Jesus’ time, can be fraught with danger, but the true disciple is willing to face these risks again and again without wavering because they have placed their trust in Jesus. Jesus encourages us by assuring us of his presence and that whoever receives his followers receives him.

Openness to others is the beginning of the journey toward the Kingdom because love is the foundation of mission. We experience the difficulty of welcoming others, whether strangers or neighbors; elderly parents or unborn children; the chronically ill or terminally ill; those who are different from us. Welcoming others is taking a risk, as countries that have to receive thousands displaced by war and famine tell us. However, it is also an opportunity and a discovery, for love grows and the encounter transforms the “other” into an opportunity for enrichment. To receive others is to receive Christ. This is what happened to the Shunammite woman who, by opening her heart and her home, found the reward of a blessing. This is what happens every time we manage to discover in the face of another the features of Jesus’ face. To build the Kingdom, we necessarily need to open our hearts to our brothers and sisters and consider how Jesus would do it.

What “arrangements and compromises” do we make that betray the Gospel? What is my attitude toward strangers and unknown people? What does the Gospel of Jesus demand of me today?

Father of goodness, who through your grace have made us children of light, grant us to live outside the darkness of error and to remain always in the splendor of truth. Amen.