Tuesday, 16 June 2026
Wednesday, June 17, 2026 - How often have you made “means” ends in themselves?
To read the texts click on the texts:2 Kings 2: 1,6-14; Mt 6:1-6,16-18
Immediately
after the six antitheses (5:21-48) in the Sermon on the Mount, there follows
instructions on three practices that were common among the Pharisees as a sign
of closeness to God namely almsgiving, prayer and fasting. All three though
only a means to reach God can be made ends in themselves. Almsgiving can be
ostentatious, prayer can be used to show-off and fasting can be used to point
to one’s self. Jesus cautions the listeners about these dangers and challenges
them to make them all internal activities that will lead the way to God rather
than being made ends in themselves.
For
us as Christians, Jesus has simplified matters. There is absolutely no
obligation in the Christian way of life except the obligation to love. When
there is love then all our actions come from our hearts and spontaneously
without counting the cost. Almsgiving becomes generous and spontaneous, prayer
becomes union with God and leads to action and fasting is done in order to show
our dependence on God and not on earthly things.
Monday, 15 June 2026
Tuesday, June 16, 2026 - How often has the expectation of some “reward” been your motivation for “doing good”? Will you “do good” without any expectation of reward today?
To read the texts click on the texts:1 Kings 21:17-29; Mt 5:43-48
In
the last of the six antitheses, Matthew focuses on the love command. . While
there is no command to hate the enemy in the Old Testament, yet, there are
statements that God hates all evildoers and statements that imply that others
do or should do the same. Jesus, makes explicit here the command to love
enemies. The conduct of the disciples of Jesus must reveal who they are really
are, namely “sons and daughters of God”.
The
command to “be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect” does not mean to be
without faults, but means to be undivided in love as God is undivided in love.
The
love we have for others is more often than not a conditional love. We indulge
in barter exchange and term it love. We are willing to do something for someone
and expect that they do the same or something else in return. It is a matter of
“give”, but also a matter of “take”. When Jesus asks us to be like the heavenly
Father, he is calling us to unconditional love.
Sunday, 14 June 2026
Monday, June 15, 2026 - How often have you gone beyond the call of duty? Will you do so today?
To read the texts click on the texts: 1 Kgs 21:1-16; Mt 5:38-42
The
text of today contains the fifth antithesis. In it, Jesus not only affirms the
thrust of the Law in opposing unlimited revenge, but also calls for a rejection
of the principle of retaliatory violence as well. In the five examples that
follow (being struck in the face, being sued in court, being requisitioned into
short-term compulsory service, giving to beggars and lending to borrowers) the
one point being made is to place the needs of others before one’s own needs.
The disciple of Jesus is called to go beyond the call of the Law and do more
than it requires.
It
is so easy for us to be reactors. If someone does something to hurt us, we
think that it is “natural” for us to want to do something to hurt him or her in
return. In the text of today, Jesus is calling us to be actors and not reactors
and to do what we do because we think it is right and just and not as a
reaction to someone else’s action.
Saturday, 13 June 2026
Sunday, June 14, 2026 - How will you continue to proclaim God's kingdom?
To read the texts click on the texts: Exod 19:2-6; Rom 5:6-11; Mt 9:35-10:8
The
themes which stand out in the readings of today are obedience, love and
wholeness.
In
the reading from the Book of Exodus we are made privy to a theophany. God
speaks with Moses and promises that he is a God of justice and mercy. He will
continue to bestow his love on the people. The experience of this love must
move the people to respond. The manner in which they show that they have
received God's love and mercy is if they love others and are merciful to them.
This will mean professing their faith in action and not only in words.
Paul
speaks of this faith which he says is what justifies us. We are not justified
by any merit on our part simply because Jesus has obtained all the graces that
we need through his death on the cross. This death was not because we were
righteous or worthy in any way. It was because of the gratuity of God in Jesus
who died for us even when we were sinners. This is proof (if proof were
required) of God’s immeasurable and unconditional love made visible and
tangible in Jesus.
The
love that we receive from Jesus is a love that must be shared with all those we
meet. This is why the Gospel text begins with a summary of the activities of
Jesus. This includes word and action, saying and doing. The Mission of Jesus to
make people whole is not a restricted, but a universal mission. It is to all
and for all. In this mission, every person is made well, every disease is cured
and every infirmity is healed
The
trust that Jesus places in his disciples is evident when he gives his disciples
the same mission given to him by God. The disciples will speak and act like
Jesus did. They will make people well, cure diseases and heal infirmities like
Jesus did. Jesus holds nothing back. He gives his disciples the same authority
that God gave him. It is with his authority that his disciples will have
authority over unclean spirits and over every disease and infirmity. In a word,
they will have authority over all the negatives that do not allow people to be
whole.
The
mission on which Jesus sends his disciples is directed primarily to the poor
and downtrodden. It is the marginalized and forgotten that the missionaries are
to reach first. They are to give with no expectation of return. Since they have
received everything as grace they must impart to others whatever they do with
the same grace. Just as the immediate response of Jesus on seeing the crowds
was compassion, so must the missionaries be compassionate to everyone they
meet.
It
must be noted that when Jesus summons the twelve, they are termed disciples.
This is from the Greek μαθηταί, and means someone who sits at the feet of the
master and learns from him. The reason for the use of this term here is to
indicate that the Mission belongs to Jesus and it is with his authority that
the disciples are sent out. It is only after they have learned from him that
they can become ἀπόστολοι (apostles) or those who are sent out. it is Jesus’
message (“gospel of the kingdom”) that the disciples proclaim, his miracles
that they continue, and his presence that defines them.
The
list of the names of the twelve is instructive. The first four were fishermen,
Matthew was a tax-collector, not much is known about the others, but in the
group, there is also a betrayer. We also know that of these chosen twelve,
there was not one who remained in Gethsemane when Jesus was arrested. In other
words, Jesus did not choose heroes. He chose weak, vulnerable and sinful men
and hoped that through them he would continue the Mission given to him by God.
His
hope was not belied. Even if immediately
after the death and burial of Jesus, the disciples were a frightened lot, there
is no doubt that with the coming of the Spirit which Jesus promised, they
became fearless and courageous men. They became men who would keep spreading
the message of love no matter what the consequences. They continued the mission
of Jesus as he wanted them to continue it, remembering at all times, that the
mission was the mission of the Lord.
What
message do the readings offer us? The love of God manifested in Jesus is a love
that is unconditional. In his letter to the Romans, Paul explains how this is
so when he states that Jesus died for us even when we were ungodly and sinners.
He did not wait for humanity to become godly and obedient to God. He accepted
the whole of humanity as it was with all its weaknesses and sinfulness with no
expectation in return. His death to save was an act done gratuitously and
without reserve. It was done because of unconditional love.
If
we have experienced this love, the only proper response is that we love in
return. As the disciples learned from Jesus, we too must sit at his feet and
learn from him. It is with his authority that we too like the apostles will
them go out to everyone we meet proclaiming God’s kingdom of justice, peace and
love. It is then that like the disciples we too will make people whole.
There
may be times when our efforts will not bear the fruit that we want. At times
like these we keep reminding ourselves that the Mission is not ours but the
Lord’s and that in his time and in his way, he will make the whole of humanity
whole. If God could make the Universe out of nothing, we know and will remember
that nothing is impossible for God.
Friday, 12 June 2026
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