July 10, 2018 Tuesday,
14th Week in
Ordinary Time
1st Reading: Ho 8:4-13
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)
Do you want the devil to go ballistic? Do good no matter how small and you get the devil’s head loaded with burning coal! This should not intimidate us, however. Consider what Jesus did when the devil got angry over his good deed. In today’s Gospel Jesus stirred quite a following when he healed a possessed dumb man. The devil launched an offensive through the poisonous mouths of the Pharisees who accused Jesus of being an agent of evil. The devil was hoping that identifying Jesus with his own forces will turn off his followers. But Jesus put up a good fight. He exposed the inconsistency of having the prince of devils drive away evil spirits. It didn’t take some complicated syllogisms to arrive at the impossibility of Satan trying to divide his own house by destroying his own minions.
Having exposed the devil’s cerebral deficit, Jesus went ahead with his mission of taking care of the flock. Forgetting that he too was harassed, Jesus showed pity for the people who appeared harassed “like sheep without a shepherd.” The term was borrowed from the Book of Numbers where Moses wrote: “May the Lord, the God of the spirits of all mankind, set over the community a man who shall act as their leader in all things, to guide them in all their actions, so that the Lord’s community may not be like sheep without a shepherd” (Num. 27: 15-17).
The devil is provoked by a good deed no matter how small. In the course of the fulfillment of our God-given mission to do good, the devil will send lots of adversaries who will color us dark to make it appear we are part of their syndicate. Let us fight as Jesus did. After all, for evil to thrive, it is enough that good men do not strive. – (Atty.) Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., DM. Email: [email protected].
May comment ka ba sa column ni Father Dan? May tanong ka ba sa kanya?
I-type ang BANDERA REACT at i-send sa 4467.
Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Bandera. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.