Monday, 6 July 2026
Tuesday, July 7, 2026 - “There is nothing good or bad, but thinking makes it so”. Do you agree with this statement? Why?
To read the texts click on the texts: Hosea 8:4-7,11-13; Mt 9:32-38
Our text for today
includes the final miracle in Matthew’s Miracle Cycle. The response to the same
miracle is two-fold. On the one hand, the crowd seeing the miracle are amazed,
and speak of their amazement, but on the other, the Pharisees’ the power that
Jesus has to Beelzebul. What follows is a summary statement of the words and
deeds of Jesus, which is very similar to the summary statement in 4:23 before
the Sermon on the Mount. By repeating the summary statement here after the
Miracle Cycle, Matthew shows that Jesus is Messiah not only in words (as
expressed in the Sermon on the Mount) but also in deeds (as explicated in the
Miracle Cycle).
Often the external
stimulus is the same for two persons and yet each responds differently. This is
an indication that it is not the external stimulus that is causing the
response, but the person him/herself. In other words, each of us can decide how
we want to respond. We can look at the half-filled or half-empty part of a
bottle. We can look at the black spot or at the white wall. It depends on what
we want to see and how we see.
Sunday, 5 July 2026
Monday, July 6, 2026 - On a scale of 1 to 10 where would you mark your faith? Why?
To read the texts click on the texts: Hosea 2:16-18,21-22; Mt 9:18-26
In the text of today,
which Matthew has taken from Mark, the sandwich construction is maintained.
This means that the first incident is interrupted by the narration of another
incident complete in itself, and after this the first incident is resumed and
completed.
The story that is
inserted into the story of raising the ruler’s daughter is the story of the
healing of a woman with a haemorrhage. While Mark gives us the name of the
leader of the synagogue, Jairus (Mark 5:22), Matthew omits his name. Matthew
also omits a number of Marcan details namely Jesus’ question about who touched
him and the disciples response, the fear of the woman about being found out and
her falling down before Jesus. In Matthew it is very clear that the woman is
healed not by a magic touch but by faith. While in Mark, the messengers come to
inform Jairus about his daughter’s death, this whole scene is absent in
Matthew, because in Matthew, the girl is already dead when the ruler comes to
him. This has the effect of the ruler professing resurrection faith in his
entreaty.
In Matthew, the story
becomes a confessional statement of faith in the power of the resurrected
Jesus.
In the first few days or
even weeks of a terminal illness, the person who is ill continues to hope that
he/she will get well. As time goes by and the healing does not occur, soon hope
begins to dim. Finally the person gives up and gives in. The woman’s attitude
in the story of today is calling each of us to perseverance, hope and faith and
to develop an attitude of never giving up. That we must cultivate such an
attitude is made clearer when we realise that Jesus could raise even those whom
others gave up for dead.
Saturday, 4 July 2026
Sunday, July 5, 2026 - His yoke is easy
To read the texts click on the texts: Zech.9:9-10; Rom 8:9, 11-13; Mt 11:25-30
One
day a man saw a small boy carrying a still smaller boy on his back. The smaller
boy was lame. As they passed by, the man commented to the small boy, “That’s a
heavy burden for you to carry/” The small boy answered, “He’s no burden,
Mister. He’s my little brother.” The yoke of Jesus is not a burden, it is kind
(easy) and light.
To
understand fully the Gospel text of today, two points must be kept in mind. The
first is that it is placed by Matthew after three “negative” passes which begin
at 11:2. These are the response of Jesus to the disciples of John the Baptist
to their question whether Jesus was the Messiah, the exasperation with the
crowd who do not recognize John nor Jesus, and the denunciation of the cities
of Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum. Indeed, this entire section of Matthew’s
Gospel seems to deal with people’s disappointment over the ”failure” of Jesus
to measure up to their expectations in terms of what a “Messiah” would look
like or act like.
The
second point is that this text is clearly a Matthean composition and is made of
three elements. The first two of these are found in Luke but in different
contexts and the third is exclusive to Matthew, In Matthew the audience is
clearly the crowds and so the words of Jesus here are meant for all. So the
passage seeks to state that despite so much of doubt and negativity, that
despite so much of blindness and closed attitudes, this is not the last word.
Despite the fact that Jesus’ message has been questioned by John the Baptist,
rejected by many and especially the wise and understanding and not heeded by
the cities, yet his invitation and message will find acceptance by others who
are open and receptive. Often ‘the wise’ tend to become proud and
self-sufficient in their ‘wisdom’ and refuse to receive what is new and
unexpected. This is because they have already made up their minds about what
kind of Messiah is to come, The person of Jesus and the nature of the
fulfillment he brings cannot be understood, if he is restricted to preconceived
categories and human conceptual frameworks, On the other hand, the childlike
are most often open, dependent, and receptive. They are willing to let God work
in their lives. They have not decided in advance how God must act and are
willing to let God be God. Therefore they are able to believe and so to rejoice
This
note of joy brought by faith already sounds in the words of Zechariah, in the
first reading. ‘Rejoice, daughter of Zion! Shout with gladness’, Zechariah
cries out, ‘Rejoice, because the messiah-king is coming – doing away with the
‘horses’ and other things of war.’ He will ride on a donkey, but strong and
triumphant, as he brings a peace that embraces the whole world. Despite the
overwhelming significance of his person, the relationship he shares with the
Father and the fact that the total mission was given him by the Father, Jesus comes
meekly and humbly as a servant, like the messiah-king about whom Zechariah
prophesied.
Jesus
invites all to come to him, to enter into a relationship with him, and to
follow him in discipleship. It is his yoke to which he calls; it is he who
gives rest. The fact that Jesus’ yoke is easy and his burden is light must not
be misunderstood to mean that the discipleship and righteousness to which Jesus
are easy and undemanding. Discipleship demands nothing less than
life-commitment and a total denial of self. This is what Paul means when he
tells the Romans that they must not live unspiritual lives, but show that they
belong to Christ and are his disciples by choosing the spiritual over the
unspiritual.
Because
Jesus brings the new era of grace and salvation through his intimate
relationship with his Father, he is both qualified and able to reveal him as
unconditional love and mercy. While “yoke” signifies obedience, it could also,
if misunderstood, become a burden that is too heavy to carry. In Jesus’ understanding,
the experience of serving God is not a burden and does not cause fatigue.
On
the contrary, since the yoke is easy and the burden is light, it leads only to
joy. Thus, his yoke is not just a yoke from him but also a yoke with him. To
take the yoke of Christ is to associate and identify ourselves with him: our
destiny with his destiny, our vision with his vision and our mission with his
mission. It is to know that we are not pulling the yoke alone and by our own
power but together with Christ and by the strength that comes from him. It is
to know that with him and in him the yoke is easy and the burden light.
Friday, 3 July 2026
Saturday, July 4, 2026 - How often have you made rules and regulations ends in themselves? What will you do about it today?
To read the texts click on the texts: Amos 9:11-15; Mt 9:14-17
The
question about fasting is raised here by the disciples of John the Baptist.
Jesus’ first response is that the wedding guests do not fast during the
wedding. In other words, the time of Jesus is considered as a time of
celebration, it is the time of the presence of the Kingdom of God. The second
and third responses are about the new cloth and old garment and about new wine
in old wine skins. The point here seems to be that both have their place in
appropriate settings and must not be mixed up. Fasting does have a place in
spirituality, but must not be made an end it itself.
It
is possible that even our good actions might take a hold of us and so become
ends in themselves. There is only one end: God and all else that we do even if
it is good can never be an end. We must use them as means to reach God. This
means that if something helps me, I use it, if it hinders me I give it up
Thursday, 2 July 2026
Friday, July 3, 2026 - St. Thomas Apostle of India - Will you believe even when you cannot see?
To read the texts click on the texts: Acts10:24-35; Heb 1:2-3; Jn 20:24-29
Thomas
the Apostle, also called Didymus (meaning "Twin," as does
"Thomas" in Aramaic") was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus.
He was perhaps the only Apostle who went outside the Roman Empire to preach the
Gospel. He is also believed to have crossed the largest area, which includes
the Parthian Empire and India.
The
text chosen for the Feast of St. Thomas from the Gospel is often mistakenly
referred to as that of “Doubting Thomas”. However, that is a misnomer. Jesus
does not use the word doubt in these verses. Rather, Jesus chides Thomas for
being unbelieving. The story focuses on the grounds of faith. Thomas seeks
tangible proof which the disciples are unable to provide. Jesus provides this
for Thomas and in so doing asks him to move from unbelief to faith.
Thomas
does not touch the hands and side of Jesus as Jesus invites him to do, but
responds with the highest acclamation or title for Jesus anywhere in the New
Testament. Thomas sees God fully revealed in Jesus. This is why Jesus is for
Thomas “My Lord and my God!”
The
Beatitude or blessing pronounced by Jesus on future generations’ states that
having seen Jesus is not a prerequisite for faith. One must first believe in
order to see.
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