July 09, 2019 Tuesday
14th Week in Ordinary Time1st Reading:
Gen 32:23–33Gospel:
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 tried many ways to stop people from coming to Jesus. One desperate strategy was to spread rumors that Jesus’ healing powers came from the devil. This did not work. People still continued to flock to Jesus for healing and to listen to his words. Jesus felt compassion for them, comparing them to “sheep without a shepherd”. Notwithstanding the growing opposition from the Jewish religious leaders, Jesus acted as their Shepherd.
In assuming the title “Shepherd”, Jesus perfected the traits of most shepherds of Israel in his time. One such attribute was compassion. Compared to the shepherds of Europe, Shepherds in Israel developed deeper compassion for their sheep. This was because while sheep in Europe were raised principally for their meat and butchered sooner, sheep in Israel were raised for their wool and milk and stayed longer with their shepherds. Through time shepherds in Israel developed compassion for their sheep. Jesus perfected this trait of compassion by refusing to abandon them no matter the cost.
Another trait among shepherds in Jesus’ time was knowledge of their sheep. This appeared to be reciprocal because sheep behaved like they knew their shepherd. Thus even if different flocks would come closer in the field sheep would not get mixed up. They knew exactly the voice of their own shepherd and him alone they would follow. Jesus perfected this sheep-shepherd bond in his relationship with his people. “I know my sheep and my sheep know me”, Jesus said (John 10:14). In biblical parlance, to know a person is to love him. Jesus loved his people at the expense of his life.
Perfecting these two traits of compassion and love, Jesus shepherded his people despite the growing opposition coming from no less than the spiritual leaders of his time. – (Atty.) Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., D.M.
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