July 07, 2016Thursday
14th Week in Ordinary Time 1st Reading:
Hos 11: 1-4. 8c-9
Gospel: Mt 10:7–15
Jesus said to his disciples, “Go and proclaim this message: The kingdom of heaven is near. Heal the sick, bring the dead back to life, cleanse the lepers, and drive out demons. You received this as a gift, so give it as a gift. Do not carry any gold, silver or copper in your purses. Do not carry a traveler’s bag, or an extra shirt, or sandals, or walking stick: workers deserve their living. “When you come to a town or a village, look for a worthy person and stay there until you leave. As you enter the house, wish it peace. If the people in the house deserve it, your peace will be on them; if they do not deserve it, your blessing will come back to you. “And if you are not welcomed and your words are not listened to, leave that house or that town and shake the dust off your feet. I assure you, it will go easier for the people of Sodom and Gomorrah on the Day of Judgment than it will for the people of that town.”
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the Assimilated Life Experience)
A penitent confesses that he had killed 20 people. “But why?” inquires the priest. “Because they believed in God”, explains the penitent. “There is something inside me that drives me to kill believers in God”. A deafening silence follows. Finally the penitent asks: “May Diyos ba talaga, Father? Naniniwala din po ba kayo?” The priest stammers and says: “Noon ‘yon, pero ngayon jamming-jamming na lang”.
Belief in God blooms so easily when nothing is at stake. But such belief wouldn’t translate to faith. Genuine faith germinates when believing in God will cost a person an arm and a leg. The only water that the seed of faith responds to is water in the form of tears, sweat and blood. Only these will make faith sprout. This is the faith that sustains the kingdom of God in our midst.
The Lord said the kingdom of heaven is near. Do you feel it really near? Are the sick healed, the dead brought back to life, lepers cleansed, and demons driven out? Where faith is wanting, the kingdom of God continues to be elusive. Why would you bother making the lives of others less stressful and so heal them if not because of faith? If not in the name of faith, why would you care fighting evil structures to bring life back to the living dead? Would you bother cleansing modern lepers robbed of their human dignity if not because in faith you believe we are all children of God?
Only genuine faith can bring the kingdom of God closer to us. Pero kung jamming-jamming nalang tayo sa pagka-Kristyano, ang kaharian ng Diyos ay di magaganap dito! -(Atty.) Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., DM, MAPM, MMExM, REB., Email: dan.delosangeles@gmail.com.
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