July 7
GospelThink
Monday, July 7
MATTHEW
9:18-26
I
touched both of the people that I healed.
Prayerthoughts
a.
The official asked the Lord to have his daughter healed. There
are some ailments that I have now. I should continue to ask the
Lord for healing, but always with the understanding that the
Lord will answer according to His will.
b.
There are often ailments and/or disabilities that I must accept
because they simply cannot be cured, given our human condition.
Do I accept these and still try to live well?
c.
The thought of “touch” is significant. Do I try to “touch,”
that is get close to, the Lord every day?
d.
There are some people that I see often. Do I try to “touch” them
and make them feel more positive about life?
e.
Obviously, both the official and the woman have a strong faith in
Jesus. Again I should consider my faith and how strong it should
be.
f.
Jesus cured the little girl only after he had dismissed the crowd.
Perhaps the crowd was not able to understand what Jesus was
doing. Often the “crowd,” other people, takes away any
desire that I may have to grow in the spiritual life. Perhaps I
should take some quiet time today, and determine how I can grow
better in the spiritual life.
g.
My prayerthoughts…
Today,
I will read Genesis,
chapter 28,
and write
an important thought from it.
Some Thoughts on the Liturgy
PEOPLE OF FAITH WILL SHOW IT
+ This is the evangelist Matthew’s version of a longer story that is told in the Gospel of Mark
- the passage contains two stories of strong faith
- the faith in Jesus of the synagogue leader whom Mark calls Jairus
- the faith of the woman who was suffering
+ The book of Genesis continues the story of Jacob, here at the very beginning of Jacob’s life
- and his consecration to God, re-iterating a promise that he made to God more than once in his rather involved life
- a consecration that caused him to be a person who was totally dedicated to
God
+ Putting the two readings together, we are called to be people of faith as a result of our consecration to God
- we too have consecrated ourselves to God through baptism
- therefore, we are called to be people of faith
- faith that is exemplified in the Gospel
+ I see two characteristics of that faith presented in the liturgy that are important for lay people and also for us
- the woman who is suffering reaches out to touch Jesus’s cloak
- a person of faith is going to make some visible sign that they believe
- a person of faith cannot be secret in their faith
- it comes out in the way we interact with one another
- our actions show to one another that God is important to us
- and secondly, a characteristic of faith from the official of Matthew’s story
- he goes out of his way to find Jesus to ask him to come to his daughter
- the person of faith will search for Jesus in prayer, spending valuable time in pursuing Jesus
- in that prayer, searching for who Jesus is and what he wants for us
- that prayer should be helped by our study of Scripture, so that we learn more and more about who Jesus is and what he was all about
+ Two things perhaps to remember about a person of faith who is consecrated to God:
- one, their faith will not be a secret; it will come out in their actions;
- two, they will go out of their way to find Jesus in prayer by studying about him more.
Nicodemus, one of their members (the Pharisees) who had come to Jesus earlier, said to them, “Does our law condemn a person before it first hears him and finds out what he is doing?” They answered and said to him, “You are not from Galilee also, are you? Look and see that no prophet arises from Galilee.” |
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Gospelthink: Nicodemus was not afraid to speak on my behalf. Is it clear from my speech that I am a Christian?
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Having encountered David, the person in charge of the Bureau of Genetic Welfare, Tris was recognized to be a "pure" Divergent, and was given special treatment in the facility. At first, she was convinced that this Bureau was the answer to the problems in her world. But as Four and the others were taken into the facility and given different assignments, Four discovered that it was not what Tris thought. He finally convinced Tris that they must once again go back to Chicago to try to set things right. They found that David had convinced Evelyn in Chicago to release some debilitating gas on the populace in order to control everyone. Four and Tris found a way to stop the gas and David, but the movie closes with David watching everything that happened, no doubt ready to try to change things as he wanted them. |
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It
is clear from the Gospel of John that Nicodemus the Pharisee was
considering the possibility that Jesus was not an enemy of Israel.
Nicodemus knew the law of Moses and therefore he knew how his
fellow Pharisees were thinking when it came to understanding
Jesus. He had begun to wonder about what he considered to be
truth. So, he had visited Jesus early on in Jesus' ministry, and
now, as he worked as a religious leader of Israel, he knew that he
had to pursue the truth. |
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PPRAYER Good and gracious God, we are convinced that You have spoken the truth to us through Your Son Jesus. Make us always aware of the truth, and give us the grace to follow it in our lives. Be with us, we pray. |
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GUIDE
FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT Theme:
Part of the solution to a problem is to continue discerning the
solution to find the truth. |
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Fr. Mike Scully is a member of the Capuchin Province of Mid-America |