Daily Gospel Reflection for June 28, 2026

Explore the call to prioritize love for God above all else in daily life, as illustrated through grief and transformation in today's Gospel reflection.

Today's Gospel: Matthew 10:37-42

In C.S. Lewis’s The Great Divorce, there is a scene of a bereaved mother name Pam who is grieving the loss of her son. Following her son’s death, Pam became angry and consumed with a crippling grief that kept her from engaging in life around her. In the story, Pam encounters a man named George MacDonald, who cautions her that her love for her son has become not just an “excess,” but a “defect.”

When I first read Lewis’s story, the words stung, and I wondered how a mother could over-grieve such a loss. But that is the sneaky onset of idolatry – loving something or even someone over and above God.

In the beginning of today’s Gospel, Jesus is cautioning us against idolatry and reminding us that the life of discipleship requires sacrifice. Jesus spoke, saying,

“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;
and 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."

In The Great Divorce, George MacDonald explains to Pam that natural love must be “buried” and die to itself before it can be transformed. The leap that Jesus asks us to take with Him in this Gospel reading is not to cease loving other people but to seek Him first. This requires us to trust in Him as we undertake the burdens or crosses in our life. For Pam, this meant surrendering her grief. Jesus asks us to let go of the attachments that keep us from pursuing Him in the selfless way that he pursues us.

Ponder:

"Whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." Is Jesus asking you to lose something for His sake?

Pray:

Lord, we pray for those who grieve, and we ask You to heal us from any wound that causes us to question Your goodness.

Pray Together:

Offer a Hail Mary for anyone who questions God's goodness.

Copyright 2026 Elizabeth Tomlin