“HONEY FROM THE ROCK”
Daily Reflections
Thursday, 13th July 2017.
Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Gen 44:18-21, 23-29; 45:1-5;
Ps 104:16-21;
Mt 10:7-15
EMPOWERED WITH THE GOSPEL
Jesus, the Son of God, sent into this world by the Father’s Love, preached the kingdom of God in the kingdom of man, to reclaim as many as possible from the kingdom of the devil. Deciding that people like you and me, should cooperate in saving the world from the powers of death and darkness, he chose twelve men at the beginning of his public ministry, and called them apostles. To these, he gave special training in the principles of their ministry, empowering them to drive out demons, to raise the dead, to cure leprosy and other diseases.
The gospels show Jesus as a great physician, curing lepers, paralytics, blind and deaf people, and even raising the dead. Jesus, now, shares these powers with his apostles, who are to be the heralds of the kingdom of God. Just as education, training, professional excellence, etc., empowers people for life in the secular city, so too the ministers of the kingdom of God, were to have suitable qualifications. Poverty was to be one of their weapons against worldly wisdom, and peace was to be the fruit of that wisdom. They were to depend on God and also on the charity of their beneficiaries. How well Jesus knew that money was the root of many evils.
The saving message of the Gospel belongs to Christ and He offers it freely. “Without cost you are to give.” This tells us that we are to offer the Gospel to others free of charge. But this action of freely giving the Gospel, includes also giving of ourselves freely. The simple fact is that the Gospel is all about a total free gift to us which requires a total free gift of ourselves to others. The Gospel is a person, Jesus Christ. And when He comes and lives in us freely, we must then become a total and free gift to others.
In the world, we see that at times, the Church and her ministry been weakened by money, wealth and ambition. Reflect, on both your receptivity of the Gospel as well as your complete willingness to give it.
Prayer: Lord, may my heart be open to You in a total way so that I may receive You as the Living Gospel. As I receive You, may I in turn give You to others in my very person. Jesus, I trust in You. Amen.