Category: Uncategorized

***

Gospel: Matthew 9: 9-13

As Jesus passed by,
he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post.
He said to him, “Follow me.”
And he got up and followed him.
While he was at table in his house,
many tax collectors and sinners came
and sat with Jesus and his disciples.
The Pharisees saw this and said to his disciples,
“Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
He heard this and said,
“Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do.
Go and learn the meaning of the words,
I desire mercy, not sacrifice.
I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.” 

The Gospel of the Lord.

***

***

Jews hated tax collectors, who were often viewed as thieves, extorting money from their neighbors, even the poor. 

They had only one king – God. Paying taxes to the Romans through people like Matthew was a type of infringement upon God’s right as their sovereign king.

Jewish law even forbade tax collectors from entering the synagogue; they were thrown into the same ritual lot as unclean animals, robbers, and murderers. In a word, they were considered, scum.

Yet it’s the tax collector, Matthew, whom Jesus calls in today’s Gospel, revealing the Lord’s ability to see deep into the human heart, weighing not only what a person does, but also what a person can become.

***

For the next three years, Matthew will learn how to leave himself and his desires behind in order to follow Jesus. 

After the resurrection, he will write one of the four Gospels, preaching this Good News as far as Ethiopia, where it’s believed he was martyred.

***

As we celebrate this July 4th weekend, Matthew reminds us that the truest use of our freedom is not to do whatever we want, but to surrender to Christ, following him wherever he may go, even to the ends of the earth.

Saint Matthew, pray for us.

***

***

Image credits: (1) Our Sunday Visitor (2) Call of Saint Matthew, Caravaggio (3) Hands of God Church, Austin TX

***

Gospel: John 20:24-29

Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve,
was not with them when Jesus came.
So the other disciples said to him, “We have seen the Lord.”
But Thomas said to them,
“Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands
and put my finger into the nailmarks
and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
Now a week later his disciples were again inside
and Thomas was with them.
Jesus came, although the doors were locked,
and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.”
Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands,
and bring your hand and put it into my side,
and do not be unbelieving, but believe.”
Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me?
Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

***

***

As a priest, I often encounter people experiencing great highs or lows. Just a few days ago, for example, I celebrated a funeral in the morning and a double baptism that afternoon.

Within a matter of hours, I stood on either side of the spectrum of life – and, somehow, had to enter as deeply into one event as I did the other. In the words of Saint Paul, I was called to, “rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep.”

I’ve come to accept that life can be terribly bitter or incredibly sweet. 

And God is present in it all.

***

In today’s Gospel, the Risen Lord appears to Thomas and the other disciples. But Jesus is not only alive again; he is also wounded. Not in a bloody sense, but he still bears the marks of his crucifixion.

His wounds are so real that Jesus invites Thomas to slide his finger into his warm, scarred, and punctured flesh. “Do not be unbelieving,” he says, “but believe.”

This same Jesus, who was once dead, is now alive again!

But why does he still bear his scars?

***

Perhaps to teach us an important lesson – that life is bittersweet. Each of us in our own way will experience both Good Friday and Easter Sunday. 

And God is present in it all.

Mysteriously, in Christ, life and death have merged; suffering and glory have become inextricably linked; the human and divine live in harmony.

***

Wherever we may be on our journeys – a high, a low, or someplace in between – trust the Lord is present. As Jesus says to Thomas, “Peace be with you… Do not be unbelieving, but believe.”

***

***

Image credits: (1) Doubting Thomas, Caravaggio (2) Twinkl (3) Diocese of Lansing

***

Gospel: Matthew 8:28-34

When Jesus came to the territory of the Gadarenes,
two demoniacs who were coming from the tombs met him.
They were so savage that no one could travel by that road.
They cried out, “What have you to do with us, Son of God?
Have you come here to torment us before the appointed time?”
Some distance away a herd of many swine was feeding.
The demons pleaded with him,
“If you drive us out, send us into the herd of swine.”
And he said to them, “Go then!”
They came out and entered the swine,
and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea
where they drowned.
The swineherds ran away,
and when they came to the town they reported everything,
including what had happened to the demoniacs.
Thereupon the whole town came out to meet Jesus,
and when they saw him they begged him to leave their district.

The Gospel of the Lord.

***

***

From a Jewish perspective, this might be the most ritually impure scene in all of the Gospels.

There are demons, dead bodies, and pigs, all present in Gentile territory, the sworn enemies of the Jews.

Why would Jesus lead his followers into such a dark and filthy place?

***

By entering into “forbidden” territory, Jesus reveals concern for everything and everyone, even those considered beyond redemption.

While the Jews held a very exclusive idea of God – he belonged only to the ritually pure, Jesus reveals God to be the Good Shepherd, who seeks out all of his creation, even those lost in darkness. 

From that eerie place, the Lord reveals the depths of his power and mercy.

He not only has the ability to calm stormy seas or to heal the curse of leprosy; he also has power over evil. “If you drive us out,” the demons say to him in today’s Gospel, “then send us into the herd of swine.”

“And he said to them, ‘Go then!’”

So, off they went.

***

What might this mean for us?

***

Jesus is not afraid of any person or area of our lives that, at times, we may want to hide from him, from others, or even from ourselves.

Unlike the villagers in the Gospel, who begged the Lord to leave them, may we embrace our Good Shepherd for who he is – the One who loves us all, and is not afraid to venture into the darkness only to forgive, heal, and set us free.

***

***

Image credits: (1) Jesus Healing the Demoniac, Sebastien Bourdon (2) Scott LaPierre (3) Agents of Light