July 05, 2016 Tuesday
14th Week in Ordinary Time 1st Reading: Hos 8: 4-7. 11-13 Gospel: Mt 9:32–38
Some people brought to Jesus a man who was dumb because he was possessed by a demon. When the demon was driven out, the dumb man began to speak. The crowds were astonished and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.” (But the Pharisees said, “He drives away demons with the help of the prince of demons.”)Jesus went around all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom, and he cured every sickness and disease. When he saw the crowds he was moved with pity, for they were harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is abundant but the workers are only few. Ask the master of the harvest to send workers to gather his harvest.”
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the
Assimilated Life
Experience)
The Pharisees used all available strategies to discredit Jesus. Some were even as ridiculous as accusing him of using the power of evil. Hello, the devil isn’t too dumb to sponsor an exorcism ministry meant to drive away his minions. Jesus must have been hurt by the adverse publicity. But his love for the mission was greater than his concern about public opinion. The sick already looked to him like “sheep without a shepherd”. Must he abandon them to make sure none of those allegations are heard? His heart bled for the sick. He had so much compassion for the weak.
Compassion was a common trait of ordinary shepherds in Israel. Probably this was because they stayed longer with their sheep than their European counterparts who raised sheep principally for their meat. Sheep in Israel were raised for wool and milk and so lived longer and stayed longer with their shepherds. Through time these shepherds developed compassion for their sheep. Jesus took this trait to highest levels. Indeed he is “The Good Shepherd”.
Shepherds in Israel also knew which sheep belong to their flock. This appeared to be reciprocal because sheep behaved like they knew their shepherd. Even if different flocks would come closer in the field sheep would not get mixed up. They knew the voice of their own shepherd and him alone they’d follow. Jesus perfected this kind of relationship in his interactions with his people. He said, “I know my sheep and my sheep know me” (John 10:14). In biblical language, to know is to love. Nobody “knew” the flock more than Jesus because he alone died for his people. The Pharisees insisted otherwise, and in the process excluded themselves from the gift of salvation. – (Atty.) Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., DM., MAPM., MMExM., REB., Email: dan.delosangeles@gmail.com.
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