A sermon on Matthew 10:37-42

By Fr. Mike Paraniuk
St. Mary Catholic Church (Hillsboro,
St. Benignus Catholic Church (Greenfield),
Saint Mary Queen of Heaven Catholic Church (Peebles)
Holy Trinity Catholic Church (West Union)

One day, a little 6-year-old boy held a dollar bill in his hand. He went to the shop owners along the street asking, "Excuse me, do you sell God?"

Many shop owners thought the boy was joking. They told him to leave. But the boy did not give up. He went in and out of countless stores for several days asking to buy "God." 

The stubborn little boy walked into the 59th store of the day and asked the
storekeeper: "Excuse me, sir, do you sell God here?"

The owner who was a 60-year-old grandpa with silver hair and kind eyes smiled and asked the little boy: "Tell me, child, why do you want to buy God?" 

The little boy shed tears as he told the storekeeper that his parents died when he was still a toddler. His uncle was raising him now. The uncle fell off a construction scaffolding and is now lying unconscious at the hospital. 

The doctor told the boy that only God can save his uncle. The little boy thought that God must be a wonderful person. He said innocently, "If I pay God, maybe he can heal him."

After listening to the boy's narrative, the storekeeper's asked, "How much do you have?"

"One dollar is all I have. It is everything I own," replied the child.

"Child, this is your lucky day. God's price is one dollar," said the storekeeper.

The storekeeper took the coin. He gave the boy a bottle of "God's Kiss" from the shelf. He said, "Take it, Boy. When your uncle drinks this bottle of 'God,' he will get well soon."

The little boy was overjoyed. Holding the drink tightly in his arms, he ran quickly to his uncle's hospital room. He shouted happily to his uncle: "Uncle, I brought 'God' back, and you will get well soon."

The next day, a team of medical experts took a special plane to the small city and went straight to the hospital where the little boy's uncle was. They performed a delicate operation that restored his uncle to health. The uncle made a full recovery. 

When the little boy's uncle was discharged from the hospital, he almost passed out when he saw the medical bill. However, the hospital said that an elderly rich man had already paid the bill. That man was the shopkeeper who gave the boy God for a dollar. 

The boy and his uncle went to the store looking for the shopkeeper to thank him. When they got to the store, a clerk told them that the man they thought was the shopkeeper was really his boss who owned hundreds of stores. He was a billionaire who brought in the doctors that saved the uncle's life. 

The clerk handed the uncle a letter from his boss who was on his way to Europe.

He tore open the letter and read: "Young man, you don't need to thank me. All the expenses have been paid by the love of your nephew. He brought a dollar and went into every store to buy 'God' for you. He gave everything he had to save you. You are blessed."

Jesus says, "Whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me." 

Taking up the cross does not mean God wants you to have a life of suffering and pain. It means God wants you to give all of your life to Him as He gave all of His life to save you on the cross. How do I give my life to God to be worthy of Him? One of the best ways is to "Pay It Forward." 

Pay It Forward is a way of life where you reward a person's kindness to oneself by being kind to someone else. You thank God for His love to you by paying it forward in love to someone else. What a wonderful way to show your devotion to God. This is how you give your life to Him.

Like the little boy, "buy" God with your faith. Then "sell" God to others by your good deeds. "In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." (Mt. 5:16.)