Fwd: MATTHEW 9:32-38: TUESDAY'S GOSPEL FOR REFLECTION
Obi OBIEKWE
Subject: MATTHEW 9:32-38: TUESDAY'S GOSPEL FOR REFLECTION
Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (To the Greater Glory of God)
For: Tuesday, July 11, 2000
From: Matthew 9:32-38
The Dumb Devil
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[32] As they were going away, behold, a dumb demoniac was brought to
Him (Jesus). [33] And when the demon had been cast out, the dumb man
spoke; and the crowds marvelled, saying, "Never was anything like this
seen in Israel." [34] But the Pharisees said, "He casts out demons by
the prince of demons."
The Need for Good Shepherds
---------------------------
[35] And Jesus went about all the cities and villages teaching in their
synagogues and preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom, and healing every
disease and every infirmity. [36] When He saw the crowds, He had
compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like
sheep without a shepherd. [37] Then He said to His disciples, "The
harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; [38] pray therefore the
Lord of harvest to send out laborers into His harvest."
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Commentary:
35. The Second Vatican Council uses this passage when teaching about
the message of Christian charity which the Church should always be
spreading: "Christian charity is extended to all without distinction of
race, social condition or religion, and seeks neither gain nor
gratitude. Just as God loves us with a gratuitous love, so too the
faithful, in their charity, should be concerned for mankind, loving it
with that same love with which God sought man. As Christ went about
all the towns and villages healing every sickness and infirmity, as a
sign that the Kingdom of God had come, so the Church, through its
children, joins itself with men of every condition, but especially with
the poor and afflicted, and willingly spends herself for them" ("Ad
Gentes", 12).
36. "He had compassion for them": the Greek verb is very expressive; it
means "He was deeply moved". Jesus was moved when He saw the people,
because their pastors, instead of guiding them and tending them, led
them astray, behaving more like wolves than genuine shepherds of their
flock. Jesus sees the prophecy of Ezekiel 34 as now being fulfilled;
in that passage God, through the prophet, upbraids the false shepherds
of Israel and promises to send them the Messiah to be their new
leader.
"If we were consistent with our faith when we looked around us and
contemplated the world and its history, we would be unable to avoid
feeling in our own hearts the same sentiments that filled the heart of
our Lord" ([Blessed] J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 133).
Reflection on the spiritual needs of the world should lead us to be
tirelessly apostolic.
37-38. After contemplating the crowds neglected by their shepherds,
Jesus uses the image of the harvest to show us that that same crowd is
ready to receive the effects of Redemption: "I tell you, lift up your
eyes, and see now the fields are already white for harvest" (John
4:35). The field of the Jewish people cultivated by the prophets--most
recently by John the Baptist--is full of ripe wheat. In farm work, the
harvest is lost if the farmer does not reap at the right time; down the
centuries the Church feels a similar need to be out harvesting because
there is a big harvest ready to be won.
However, as in the time of Jesus, there is a shortage of laborers. Our
Lord tells us how to deal with this: we should pray to God, the Lord of
harvest, to send the necessary laborers. If a Christian prays hard, it
is difficult to imagine his not feeling urged to play his part in this
apostolate. In obeying this commandment to pray for laborers, we
should pray especially for there to be no lack of shepherds, who will
be able to equip others with the necessary means of sanctification
needed to back up the apostolate.
In this connection [Pope] Paul VI reminds us: "the responsibility for
spreading the Gospel that saves belongs to everyone--to all who have
received it! The missionary duty concerns the whole body of the
Church; in different ways and to different degrees, it is true, but we
must all of us be united in carrying out this duty. Now let the
conscience of every believer ask himself: Have I carried out my
missionary duty? Prayer for the Missions is the first way of
fulfilling this duty" ("Angelus Address", 23 October 1977).
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+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+ Set your mind on God's kingdom +
+ and His justice before everything else, +
+ and all the rest will come to you as well. +
+ (Matthew 6:33) +
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++**************
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