GOD’S WORD FOR THE DAY (based on Catholic Liturgical Readings)
DATE: 9TH JULY 2016
SATURDAY OF THE 14TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
1ST READING: Isaiah 6:1-8
PSALM: Psalm 93:1-2,5
GOSPEL: Matthew 10:24-33
THEME: WHOM SHALL I SEND?
As we both glanced through the newspapers, taking note of the headlines of the day, his face reddened. He then got up angrily, turned to me and said, “Your God is dead! Look around you, there is so much evil in the world”. He dashed out of the reading room and angrily banged the door. I thought of what he had just said. He was right, there is so much evil in our world but he was wrong, God is not dead. There is an old Chinese proverb which says, “better to light a candle than curse the darkness.”
The darkness of sin and the night of unbelief will only vanish if someone takes the risk and walks in there with the light of the Word.
In our Gospel text, Jesus instructs the twelve who had responded to his call. He says to them, “What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops” (Mt 10:27). It was an instruction to go out and proclaim the message of the Kingdom.
The call of the Lord takes us out of our comfort zones into uncomfortable zones. This is where we are exposed to persecutions of different kinds. However, Jesus gives the assurance, “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. And even the hairs of your head are all counted. So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows” (Mt 10:29-31).
In the call of Isaiah, we can discern that what God looks out for is availability. God wills to give a new mission to the one who makes him/herself available in the present, in spite of a sinful past.
There is so much to be done in the vineyard of the Lord. Indeed, “the harvest is plentiful but the labourers are few.” The Lord calls out today and says, “Whom shall I send?”
Here I am Lord, send me. I am weak but you are strong. As I seek your face, just give me the grace I need and I will go wherever you send me. Through Christ, our Lord. Amen
Fr. Andrews Obeng, SVD
DIVINE WORD MISSIONARIES
BIBLICAL PASTORAL MINISTRY
(Ghana Province)