Breaking the Word

13^th Week in Ord. Time, Friday – 1^st July 2022 — Gospel: Mt 9,9-13

Looking Beyond

Only in the Gospel of Matthew the tax collector is called Matthew. In Mark and Luke, he is called Levi. However, in the lists of the twelve in both Mark and Luke, the disciple is named Matthew and Levi does not appear.

When the penetrating gaze of Jesus fell upon Matthew, he saw him beyond the prejudices of culture. He looks beyond the humanly derived political agendas or social platforms or the role he played in society. Jesus looks beyond the surface to see the dignity of the wounded person. That implies seeing the heart or soul of a person. Therefore, when Jesus looked at Matthew, he saw his entire history from the moment of his splendid creation, through the messiness of life, to the present state of his soul. On the other hand, Jesus saw Matthew first and foremost as a reflection of himself, created in His image and likeness, as a child of God. Most people who passed by the tax office would see a corrupt official, whereas Jesus was able to see a potential disciple. It was Jesus’ way of looking that led to the transformation and the response of Matthew to the call. Jesus always calls the whole person, as he is, because he sees beyond the present to the potential apostle.

13^th Week in Ord. Time, Thursday – 30^th June 2022 — Gospel: Mt 9,1-8

Faith leads to Awesome Realization

The faith of a paralytic man and others, those who brought him, compelled Jesus to perform the miracle that would heal the paralytic. They believed and trusted in Jesus because of what they saw him do or what they heard he had done. Through this healing, Jesus brought so much happiness and relief to this paralytic and awesomeness among those who were with him. In fact the passage ends, “… they were struck with awe and glorified God”. Therefore, faith is more than believing, thinking, talking, and having convictions about Jesus. It is an action as pointed by James: “faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead” (Jas 2,17). It is something to be lived out in our daily lives and leads us to wonder at an amazing action of God. Faith in Jesus means relying completely on him, trusting in his infinite power. At times, faith brings us to our own realization and leads us to have sincere and lasting repentance for our sins. Every encounter with Jesus in faith brings wholeness of body, mind and spirit. Thus, having faith in Christ helps us to become more like him.