14th Tuesday in Ordinary Time
Hosea 8:4-7, 11-13; Matthew 9: 32-38
Like many of us, whenever Israel was confronted with hard times, the people “got religion”. But, as soon as the trouble passed, they reverted back to their previous way of life. They had lost sight of God as the Master of the Universe and Giver of all Gifts. The prophet Hosea sought to remind them that putting on a good face in times of crisis does not count as faith. It is not enough to say My God, I know you, when in times of trouble. It is necessary to cleave to God at all times, and to say with one’s whole soul: God, I love you, I desire to serve you with every ounce of my being. This act of surrender to the love and mercy of God flows from the fact that any good we do is done by the power of God’s grace at work in us. Every good gift we have comes from God’s outstretched hand and is given to us out of His abundant kindness.
To Him our praise is due, in good times and in bad. Our world stands in need of a renewed conversion to the Gospel. Only then will we learn that God can manifest His power and might through our lowliness and weakness. Because God is our strength, all glory and praise belong to Him. We must never forget that He who was rich became poor for our sakes. Knowing our sinfulness, he offered himself as a sacrifice on our behalf. Those who have been saved in the blood of Christ are called to walk, pray and work together so to be a light of hope to all who are in lost in darkness and sin.
The evangelist tells us that Jesus journeyed through all the towns and villages in search of the sick and lost sheep of his flock. His intense search for the lost is testimony to the fact that God takes no pleasure in the destruction of the wicked. Being the God of compassion, He desires their repentance and return to fullness of life (CF. Ezek. 18:23). At the sight of those who have lost their way, Matthew tells us that Jesus was shaken to the core of his being (CF. Matt. 9:36). Through the power of the Cross, Christ has conformed us to Himself so that He might continue to manifest His merciful love and compassion through us.
Christ Has No Body by Teresa of Avila
Christ has no body but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
Compassion on this world,
Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good,
Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world.
Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,
Yours are the eyes, you are his body.
Christ has no body now but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
compassion on this world.
Christ has no body now on earth but yours.
Comments are closed.