Homily on Matthew 10:25–37: Lose and find life

Homily on Matthew 10:25–37: Finding Life by Losing It — A Simple Reflection on True Discipleship

Praise be to Jesus Christ 🙏 

There was once a poor woman who sold vegetables in the market every day. She walked miles with a heavy basket on her head. She had only one son whom she loved dearly. Every day she saved a few coins from her earnings to pay for his school fees. One day, while returning from the market, she saw a hungry old man lying by the roadside. The man begged for food. Without hesitation, she gave him the rice she was carrying home. That night, her son went to bed hungry. When someone asked her how she could do that to her own child, she said softly, “If I forget a stranger’s hunger, how will I teach my son to be a real human being?”

This story may seem simple, but it holds a deep meaning — the kind of meaning Jesus is talking about in today’s Gospel from Matthew 10:25–37. There is one verse in this passage that is both challenging and beautiful. It says, “Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.”

Most people search for life — a better life, a secure life, a life of peace. But Jesus turns that upside down. He says, if you try to hold on to your life, your comfort, your plans, your popularity — you might lose the very meaning of it. But if you are willing to give it all up for Him, you will discover a deeper life, a truer life.

The woman in the story gave up her own security and even her child’s comfort for the sake of love. In a way, she “lost” her life. But in doing so, she found something greater — compassion, humanity, and the joy of giving. And maybe she taught her son a lesson more valuable than any school could give.

Let us look at the word “lose.” No one wants to lose. We are trained to win. But in God’s eyes, “losing” for the sake of love is the beginning of true victory. Saint Francis of Assisi left behind his wealth, his father’s business, and everything he could have to follow Jesus. People thought he was a fool. But today, we remember him not for what he owned but for what he gave up. He lost the world — but he gained heaven.

This Gospel asks us some hard questions. What am I holding on to that I must let go? Am I afraid of losing my comfort, my position, my name, even my relationships, if I follow Jesus truly?

Jesus even says, “Anyone who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me.” This is not a command to abandon our families. Jesus Himself cared for His mother till the end. What He means is — our love for Him must be so deep that everything else comes second. He must be the first in our life, our choices, our time, our values.

This teaching is difficult. But it is not a burden. It is a path. And many have walked it. Missionaries who left their homeland to preach in unknown villages. Simple parents who taught their children to pray in the midst of poverty. Young people who said no to money and yes to truth.

In our own lives, we face choices every day. To forgive someone who hurt us is a kind of losing. To tell the truth when a lie would save us is a kind of losing. To serve someone without getting thanks is a kind of losing. But in these moments, we are walking the path of Jesus. We are carrying the cross with Him. And in the end, we do not lose. We find the life that no money, fame, or success can give.

As Saint Mother Teresa once said, “A life not lived for others is not a life.”

Let us then choose the road less taken. Let us lose a little, give a little, love a little more deeply. Because in the eyes of Jesus, it is in the giving that we receive, in the losing that we find.

Lord Jesus, help me to find everything in You.