July 12, 2018

Gospel: Mt 10:7-15
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. Freely have you received, freely give. Do not carry any gold or silver or money in your purses. Do not take a traveling bag, or an extra shirt, or sandals, or a walking stick: workers deserve to be compensated. When you come to a town or a village, look for a worthy person, and stay there until you leave. When you enter the house, wish it peace. If the people are worthy people, your peace will rest on them; if they are not worthy people, 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.

Reflections
My heart is troubled within me and I am moved with compassion The Lord compares Israel or Ephraim to a little child he has taught to walk and whom he has raised tenderly to his cheeks. Yet the older Israel grew, the further he drifted away from the Lord. The Lord expresses his sentiments: he is hurt and angered, but at the same time is moved with compassion for Israel. The Lord thus vows not to destroy Israel. Genuine love does not necessarily mean the absence of hurt or anger, but the embrace and transcendence of such anger and the decision, nonetheless, to treat our offender with compassion.

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