Following Jesus, Living His Life!

Saturday, December 9, 2023

Isaiah 30:19-21, 23-26; Matthew 9:35-10:1,5,6-8

In today’s Gospel, there are significant lessons from Jesus’ words and ministry. 

1.The mission of Jesus is summarized by his goodness to all. The multitude that followed Jesus experienced his goodness. That is why St. Luke wrote, ‘Jesus went about doing good’ (Acts 10:38). What a way to summarize one’s life! Can this be the grammar of Christian life? 

2. ‘Harvest is abundant, but the laborers are few.’ Here, Jesus does not mean any kind of laborer but a laborer who can mimic his compassion, mercy, kindness, and generosity. If we reread today’s Gospel, we can discover the intuitive power of Jesus to know the people’s needs and cater to them accordingly. In some places, he preaches! In other places, he proclaims the Gospel of the Kingdom! In his mission, he cures every disease and illness! Hence, the heart of Jesus is the requirement for someone to be qualified as a laborer. Those laborers are ‘really’ few. We need laborers who can imitate Jesus better.

3. Jesus has strong faith in a shared mission. Jesus does not consider the power of healing his exclusive privilege. He shares it with the disciples generously, instructing them that they are to give it ‘free of cost’ just as he himself has shown them. Here, Jesus is attempting to create a ripple effect of goodness. 

4. Jesus sends the disciples to find the lost sheep. If we can take it to be the mission statement of Jesus, what a way to decorate our ‘Christian Resume’! The least of the world is the topmost priority for Christians! Jesus said it and did it! Now, he gives us the invitation to follow him in doing the same. 

5. The Kingdom of God is at hand. If Jesus’s mission was unique and special, it was because he wanted to make everything right according to the Kingdom perspective. For Jesus, ‘Kingdom of God’ is the moral yardstick. If what we do aligns right with the Kingdom principle, then it means that the inspiration for such action comes from God, orienting us toward God. Let us amend and align our lives according to the rule of the Kingdom.

To follow Jesus means to live his life! Let us pray for the grace!

Fr. Dhinakaran Savariyar