13th Sunday in Ordinary Time
2 Kgs 4:8-11,14-16
Rm 6:3-4,8-11
Mt 10:37-42
“Anyone who finds his life will lose it; anyone who loses his life for my sake will find it.”
There is a phrase that often surfaces in Singapore — “Don’t lose out.” It shapes how we study, work, save, invest, and even how we plan our children’s futures. We live in a society where meritocracy is the name of the game, where opportunities are fiercely competed for and success is often measured by grades, promotions, property, and financial security. None of these things is wrong in themselves. The problem arises when our pursuit of success becomes so consuming that we begin to live only for ourselves — our ambitions, our comfort, our pleasures, and our advancement — often at the expense of others.
The Scriptures today challenge this mentality and invite us to a different way of living — building eternal treasures through self-giving love and holy generosity.
The First Reading from 2 Kings introduces us to the Shunamite woman. She recognised Elisha as “a holy man of God” (2 Kings 4:9) and insisted on welcoming him into her home. Not content with merely offering him a meal, she and her husband built a room for him with a bed, table, chair, and lamp. She gained nothing materially from this act. It cost her time, resources, and inconvenience. Yet, she gave generously and selflessly simply because she saw a need.
I often wonder whether I would have done the same. In our highly scheduled and efficiency-driven lives, we guard our time and possessions carefully. We are quick to ask, “What’s in it for me?” or “How much will this inconvenience me?” Hospitality, generosity, and service are frequently measured by their cost to us.
The Shunamite woman challenges me because she did not calculate her generosity. She simply willed the good of another person. In return, God blessed her abundantly with the gift of a son, something she had long desired but never dared ask for. Her story reminds me that eternal treasures are often built quietly through hidden acts of selflessness.
The psalmist declares: “I will sing for ever of your love, O Lord” (Psalm 88:2). The psalmist understands that love is not merely an emotion but a covenant, a continual giving of oneself. God’s love for us is steadfast and generous. If we are made in His image, then our lives too should reflect that same generosity.
St Paul takes this even further in his letter to the Romans. He reminds us that through baptism, we have died and risen with Christ: “… when we were baptised, we went into the tomb with him and joined him in death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead… we too might live a new life” (Rm 6:4).
This ‘new life’ is not simply about avoiding sin. It is about dying to our old, self-centred ways of living. It is a daily death to ego, pride, selfish ambition, and our insatiable need to come first. Dying with Christ means allowing our self-interest to be crucified so that we can become more loving, more generous, and more attentive to the needs of others.
This is incredibly difficult in Singapore. From a young age, we are taught to excel and compete. Students worry about securing places in elite schools. Employees fear losing opportunities for advancement. Parents compare their children’s achievements. Colleagues sometimes withhold information to gain an advantage. Social media amplifies the pressure to succeed materially and professionally.
In such an environment, it becomes easy to see life as a zero-sum game — if someone else gains, I lose.
The Gospel offers a radically different perspective. Jesus says, “Anyone who finds his life will lose it; anyone who loses his life for my sake will find it” (Mt 10:39).
This is one of the great paradoxes of Christianity. The more tightly I cling to my own wants and needs, the smaller and more anxious my world becomes. But the more I give of myself, the more I discover true freedom and joy.
Building eternal treasures requires daily acts of dying to self.
It may mean giving up personal time to accompany an elderly parent who needs company. It may mean refusing to work in ways that exploit colleagues for personal advancement. It may mean sharing notes with a struggling classmate instead of viewing them as competition. It may mean choosing not to take credit for work done by a team member. It may mean listening patiently to a friend in distress when all I want is a quiet evening to myself.
Even within our families, dying to self may mean putting down our phones and being fully present to our spouse and children. It may mean sacrificing our own comfort to care for a sick loved one. It may mean choosing forgiveness instead of holding on to resentment.
These sacrifices often feel small and hidden, but in God’s eyes they are eternal treasures.
Jesus further says, “Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me” (Mt 10:40). Every act of hospitality, generosity, and kindness becomes an encounter with Christ Himself. Every selfless act builds the kingdom of God.
The world tells us to accumulate wealth, achievements, and status. The Gospel tells us to accumulate love.
At the end of our lives, our grades, promotions, investments, and accolades will pass away. What will remain are the moments when we died to ourselves, so that others could live more fully. What will endure are the times we chose generosity over self-interest, service over comfort, and love over ambition.
This is the true measure of success in the Christian life — not how much we have gained, but how much we have given away in love.
For it is only by dying to ourselves that we truly rise with Christ and begin to store up treasures that neither moth nor rust can destroy.
(Today’s OXYGEN by Susanah Cheok)
Prayer: Jesus, Lord, You are the perfect, spotless Lamb who gave His life so that we could have ours in You. You teach us every day how to be obedient sheep in Your fold, yet stubborn as we are, we stray and find ourselves lost in our own wilderness of selfishness and self-glorification. Help us to be faithful to Your voice — to listen, to learn and know when You, our Good Shepherd, is calling us home.
Thanksgiving: Thank you, Lord, for your patience and for never giving up on us, no matter how far we stray. Thank you for leaving the 99 to go in search of us without fail and without exception.
OXYGEN 
Leave a comment