How often have you focussed on the result rather than on the action? Will you focus only on the action today? Hosea 11,1-4.8-9; Mt 10,7-15

To read the text click Hosea 11,1-4.8-9; Mt 10,7-15

The text of today, which is part of the Mission Discourse of Matthew contains the instructions for Mission. Three points may be noticed. The first is that mission is not only words but also action. Jesus sends the disciples not only to preach but also to heal. The second is that Jesus provides a strategy for mission which may be summarised in one word namely, DETACHMENT. The call is to detachment from anything, which will hold a person up or prevent him or her from engaging in mission. The third is that Jesus calls the disciples from a detachment even from the outcome of mission. They must not be concerned about the results or the fruits, but simply do what needs to be done.

Often, too much of focus on the results of our actions do not allow us to focus on the action itself. Consequently, our action is neither effective nor efficacious. If we continue to keep in mind that the Kingdom is not ours but His and we are only called to do our best in striving to make this kingdom a reality in the lives of others, then our action will be both effective and efficacious. Detachment even from the results of our action is an indication that we are aware that God is always in control.

How would you define “your” mission today? Are you engaging in mission? Hosea 10,1-3.7-8.12; Mt 10,1-7

If you wish to read Hosea 10:1-3.7-8.12; Mt 10:1-7

The text of today is what may be termed as the Introduction to the Mission Discourse of Matthew (10:1- 42). It is only here that the Twelve are called “apostles”. This may be because of the context of the “sending” of the Twelve. Matthew has arranged the list into six pairs of two, by using the conjunction “and” after the first of each pair. The statement of Jesus to “go nowhere among the Gentiles” (10:5b) might seem harsh, but it must be kept in mind that even historically, the disciples were reluctant to go to non-Jews even after the resurrection and it took considerable time for the Church to realise that it had a universal mission. It must also be noted that this Universality is present at the end of the Gospel of Matthew when the risen Jesus commands the disciples to go to “all nations” (28:18-20).

The Mission of the disciples is both to preach and to heal, to say and do, word and action.

Our Mission as disciples of Jesus is not merely a spiritual enterprise and not only to a select view. It is a practical mission, which includes the material, economic and tangible areas of people’s lives, and must include all. As disciples called to Mission we are called to make the world we live in a better place for everyone.

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“There is nothing good or bad, but thinking makes it so”. Do you agree with this statement? Why? Hosea 8,4-7.11-13; Mt 9,32-38

To read the text 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.

On a scale of 1 to 10 where would you mark your faith? Why? Hosea 2,16-18.21-22; Mt 9,18-26

To read the text click 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.

Does Jesus Christ have faith in you? Isaiah 1,1-10; Mt 10,34- 11,1

To read the text click  Isaiah 1,1-10; Mt 10,34- 11,1

These verses make up the conclusion of Matthew’s Mission Discourse. The choice is a difficult one to make and sometimes it may be between even family and one’s conscience. Loyalty to Jesus has priority over loyalty to anyone else or anything, indeed even over life itself. If one is willing to share the cross of Jesus, one will also be given the privilege of his authority. The discourse ends with the affirmation that the disciple is always a representative or ambassador of Jesus and any good done to the disciple will be considered as good done to Jesus himself.

We must keep in mind that the only Jesus that people today can see and touch is the Jesus that we make known through our words and actions. He has allowed us to share in his mission. This is also an enormous privilege, but entails a tremendous responsibility. 

Be careful of saying “I know”. You may miss the Messiah. Ezek 2:2-5; 2 Cor 12:7-10; Mk 6:1-6

 To read the text click Ezek 2:2-5; 2 Cor 12:7-10; Mk 6:1-6 

When I go to a place where I am not known, the first question I am often asked is “Father, where are you from?” I reply to this question not in words, but by pointing my thumb and looking upwards at the sky. The person who asks the question will look at my thumb and glance upwards and then respond, “Father, we have all come from heaven, but where are you from?” My response is to continue to point upwards without saying a word. One important reason why I do this is because of what we hear in the Gospel text of today. 

The Jesus, who has come to his hometown, is a Jesus who has been mighty in word and deed. He is a Jesus who has exorcised a demon, healed numerous people including a leper, a paralytic, and a man with a withered arm. He is a Jesus who has calmed a storm, healed a woman with a hemorrhage and even raised Jairus’ daughter from the dead. He is also a Jesus who has spoken mightily through his word and revealed in simple language that even the unlettered can understand the secret of the kingdom of God. Yet, when he comes to his hometown, instead of being welcomed like the mighty prophet that he has shown himself to be, the people respond with disbelief. This is, first of all, because they “know”. They “know” who Jesus is.  They “know” where he comes from and what he is capable of. They cannot believe that this man, who is one of them, can be capable of all that he has done. They refuse to believe. This is made explicit in the statement, “… and they took offence at him”. Their negative response to Jesus had a tremendous impact on Jesus and on them. While, on the one hand, they rendered Jesus incapable, on the other hand, they missed out on all the graces they could have received if only they had remained open to the revelation that he was making. Thus, Jesus “could do not mighty work there”. However, this did not completely immobilize or paralyze Jesus. He continued to go to places where he was needed and taught.

A similar situation is addressed in the first reading of today. Ezekiel is asked to go to his own people and address them. He is to alert them of the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple if they continue to live as they do. He is warned, however, that they are stubborn and impudent. He is warned that they are rude, disrespectful, and closed. Yet, the message has to be communicated and when it has, they will know what they have missed if they refuse to hear.

There are two dangers that the readings of today warn us about. The first is that of our familiarity with the Lord. Since we may be cradle Christians, we may tend to think we know everything about the Lord and thus, set limits on what he can and cannot do. This danger is pointed out to Paul in the second reading of today in which God instructs him to let God be God. He is a human and must trust that God’s weakness is stronger than his strength and that God’s foolishness is wiser than his wisdom. Paul realizes this and therefore can boast about his weakness because he trusts in God’s strength.

The second danger that we are warned about today is Stereotyping. Stereotyping people is common among many today. We stereotype on the basis of country, state, religion, and caste. We tend to categorize people on these bases and so, prejudge them much like the people of Jesus’ hometown did. We lump all of one kind together and look at them with prejudiced and jaundiced eyes. We do not give them a chance to reveal their uniqueness, because once we “know” where they are from, we think we “know” all there is to know about them. We close our minds and eyes and ears and refuse to see and hear. We refuse to change our opinion because of what we already “know”. “They are always like that”, “they will never change”, and “what else can you expect from them” are some of the responses which reflect this closed attitude. This kind of attitude leads to a loss on both sides. We lose out on the individuality of the person we have judged and he or she is not allowed to be the person that he or she is because “We know”.  Be careful of saying “I know”. You may miss the Messiah.

How often have you made rules and regulations ends in themselves? What will you do about it today? Amos 9,11-15; Mt 9,14-17

If you wish to read the text click 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. 

Is your “usual” way of looking a “negative or pessimistic” way? Will you look at persons, things and events positively today? Amos 8,4-6.9-12; Mt 9,9-13

To read the text click here Amos 8,4-6.9-12; Mt 9,9-13 

The text of today contains the call of Matthew, and Jesus’ fellowship with tax collectors and sinners. It is only in the Gospel of Matthew that the tax collector is called Matthew. In Mark and Luke he is called Levi. However, in the lists of the Twelve in both Mark and Luke, the disciple is named Matthew and Levi does not appear. It is unlikely that Matthew and Levi refer to the same person. It was rare for Jews to have two different Jewish names. The reason for the author choosing the name Matthew remains unknown. However, in the text what strikes one is that whereas most people who passed by the tax office would see a corrupt official; Jesus was able to see a potential disciple. It was Jesus’ way of looking that led to the transformation and the response of Matthew to the call. In his response to the objection of the Pharisees, Jesus responds with a common proverb about the sick needing a doctor, and also quotes from Hoses 6,6, which here is interpreted to mean that the mercy of God in Jesus is extended to all humanity and takes precedence over everything else. All else must be understood in this light.

There are times when we judge people too easily and many of these times our judgement of them is negative. This is also how we often look at the whole of creation and because we put labels on things, people and all else in creation, we may miss out on the uniqueness that each possesses.

Do you believe that God has forgiven you all your sins? Will you now extend the same forgiveness to at least one person whom you find it difficult to forgive? Amos 7,1-10; Mt 9,1-8

To read the text click Amos 7,1-10; Mt 9,1-8 

The miracle of the healing of the paralytic who was let down from the roof which forms our text for today is found also in Mark (2, 1-12) and Luke (5,17-26). Matthew has omitted some details from Mark and thus shortened his narrative. Through these omissions, Matthew allows the reader to focus exclusively on Jesus and his words. It is unusual that Jesus does not respond to the paralytic’s immediate need but first forgives him his sins. The healing of the man is done later and only as demonstration of the fact that Jesus has power and authority to forgive sin, because the scribes consider Jesus’ pronouncement of forgiveness of sins as blasphemy. Since Jesus heals by the power of God, he can forgive sins by the same power. In Matthew, the crowd does not praise God for the miracle like they do in Mark and Luke, but for the authority to forgive sins attributed not only to Jesus but to human beings (“such authority to human beings” – Mt 9,8).

Most doctors today are convinced that there is an intimate connection between negative feelings and especially unforgiveness and physical ailments and advice a positive attitude and forgiving and letting go, for quicker healing. If we persist in our unforgiveness, we will continue to have a variety of ailments and sometimes no amount of external medicine will help at all. Forgive it is good for health.