The Lord gives his authority to the Twelve Apostles and sends them out to proclaim the Kingdom of Heaven. This is our legacy of faith; like those first apostles we are empowered by the Lord for service in the world. Now get to work!
The Gospel of Matthew offers a succinct review of the earthly ministry of Jesus, who in turn invites his disciples to pray that God will send more laborers for the harvest. As the Lord’s disciples we continue Christ’s ministry in our lives today as we reach out to those who are troubled and abandoned.
Both Ezekiel and Jesus are confronted by people who do not want to listen to their message. The spoken word has power, and when the message is tough we can evaluate our effectiveness by four simple tests: Is it true? Is it useful? Is it good? Is it loving?
When questioned about fasting, Jesus responds with an insight: there is a time to feast and a time to fast. As the Lord’s disciples we are guided by our faith in Christ to discern the appropriate times when we need to adjust our behaviors for the specific needs of a particular situation.
The call of Matthew in the Gospel reminds us that God calls all of us – regardless of our weaknesses, failures or past history – and invites us to offer our lives. In other words, God does not call the perfect; rather, the Lord chooses us (warts and all) and blesses us with what we need to accomplish our task. Like Matthew, may we accept the invitation and follow Christ!
The Lord’s healing of the paralytic in the Gospel today invites us to consider both what needs to be healed in our lives and how we might bring others to Jesus for the healing they require.
St. Thomas is known for his doubts about the resurrection of Jesus. However, once he saw the Risen Lord he boldly proclaimed “My God and my Lord!” This very real portrait of Thomas inspires us in the midst of our doubts to draw near to Christ and proclaim the Good News in our daily lives.
Often in life we experience the need for healing, both in our lives and in the lives of those around us. As we grow in faith we acknowledge the Lord’s power to bring this healing to our hearts…and as his disciples we become agents for the healing grace of Christ to work through us in the world.
The faith of the Roman centurion reveals his complete trust in the authority and power of Jesus. His example inspires us to turn to the Lord with open hearts and allow God’s grace to work in and through our lives.