Missionary Orientation!

Tuesday, July 9, 2024

Hos 8:4-7,11-13; Mt 9:32-38

Today’s Gospel highlights the needed missionary orientation.

When Jesus heals a demoniac, the Pharisees accuse him of maintaining ties with Satan to perform the cures. 

Their accusation is slightly nuanced. The Pharisees assert not only that Jesus effected this cure by the instrumentality of Satan but also by means of union with him. 

However, Jesus continues his mission and reaches out to villages and towns, proclaiming the Gospel and healing the sick. 

The beauty of Jesus’ mission is that he wants his disciples to own and participate in it.

As such, it is not only that Jesus responds to the shepherdless condition of the people but also desires to call out the interest of his disciples in it. 

With this in mind, Jesus inspires his followers to pray to God for the gift of more workers. 

In what he does, Jesus leaves behind an important missionary attitude. 

When the crowds marveled, saying, ‘It was never so seen in Israel,’ Jesus is not elated. Similarly, when the Pharisees accuse him of having a partnership with Satan, Jesus is not upset. 

Jesus responds neither to praise nor to criticism but to the genuine missionary need. 

Following Jesus is to feel urged by the mission and to respond to it selflessly. 

Fr. Dhinakaran Savariyar