The Magic of Goodwill!

Saturday, June 27, 2026

Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

2 Kgs 4:8-11,14-16; Rom 6:3-4, 8-11; Mt 10: 37-42

The thirteenth Sunday invites us to believe in and spread the magic of goodwill. 

Many accusations were brought against Jesus. But one that stood out from the rest was that he was partnering with Beelzebul (Mt 12:22-32; Lk 11: 14-23). In modern parlance, the accusation would mean that, in a way, Jesus performed black magic.

In my view, Jesus did perform magic, though it was not black magic but the magic of goodwill. Jesus was markedly different from other religious leaders in the way he turned spreading the magic of goodwill into his mission. How else can we understand the Acts 10:38 description that ‘Jesus went about doing good’? Jesus’ ministry reflected his inherent goodness, which was also equally contagious. Because nobody could resist the ‘spell’ that Jesus cast, he had many followers. 

The readings of today inspire us to spread the magic of goodwill.

The first reading presents an unmistakable example of spreading goodwill among friends, neighbors, and even strangers. Though Elisha was wandering the region as a prophet, it only took a kind woman of Shunem to think of him and be sensitive towards his needs. In turn, Elisha recognized her goodness by blessing her with a son. The first reading helps us realize that our loving kindness becomes a powerful proclamation of the magic of goodwill.

In the second reading, Paul gives a wonderful summary of how we must inherit the spirit of Christ in us. While our life should imitate Christ’s love and compassion, our death should imitate his selfless sacrifice. In life and death, we are to imitate Jesus, the example par excellence. In sum, the life and death of Jesus become for us the grammar for spreading the magic of goodwill.

The Gospel helps us discover the uniqueness of Jesus. Unlike other religious leaders, Jesus was an accomplished crowd-puller. His good will and power of positivity drew people increasingly towards him. But we must know that not all of them were probably healed by Jesus. If so, why were they all with him? They noticed something very different in Jesus. When the religious leaders of the time were busy condemning people in God’s name, Jesus preached a different Gospel, a Gospel of love, compassion, and forgiveness. People found Jesus’ goodwill irresistible, and they followed him in large numbers. 

Secondly, Jesus was the one who showed them that God would not do for them what humans could do for themselves. In other words, Jesus taught them to rely on human goodness, which comes as a gift of God’s benevolent grace. Jesus, the Son of God, made people believe in the fact that we are graced beings who can imitate and reflect God’s goodness and love. Hence, helping a fellow human person in need and alleviating their pain and misery fall upon the faithful without waiting for God’s direct intervention. We are agents of God with the immense responsibility of fostering a culture of goodness and love. 

Thirdly, in order for the magic of goodwill to continue and replenish the world, Jesus puts forward discipleship with his own demand of exclusivity. Hence, we should not be mistaken that we are supposed to hate our father, mother, brother, or sister. As such, the invitation is to prioritize Jesus and love him more, knowing that a faithful love for Jesus results in a faithful love towards humanity. The underlying assumption here is that once our wills are aligned with Jesus’ own, there is no way we can hate others. The true love for Jesus becomes a true love for humanity as well.

But how can we live out and spread the magic of goodwill? One competent answer would be that our goodness should become habitual. St. Thomas Aquinas preferred the term ‘habit’ to ‘quality’ to describe virtue. For instance, he defined justice as ‘a habit whereby humans render to the other his/her due by constant and perpetual will.’ What does not become a habit does not bloom into a virtue. In much the same way, Jesus’ invitation to spread goodwill should become our daily habit in order to grow in goodness, which then becomes a better imitation of Christ.

Let us pray that, imitating the goodness of Jesus, we may spread the magic of goodwill.

Fr. Dhinakaran Savariyar