TUESDAY, FOURTEENTH IN ORDINARY TIME
Hos 8: 4-7, 11-13 Ps 115: 3-10 Mt 9: 32-38
DIFFERENT MINDS, DIFFERENT PEOPLE
In today’s Gospel, we encounter four types of people. It is worth pausing at each one to ponder what they can teach us.
The main character is the mute demoniac. Helpless and severely deprived of his basic mental and physical faculties, he nevertheless allows himself to be led by others. God uses his neighbours to guide him toward wholeness. Though possessed, he yields to Divine mercy. This adds a lesson to our own lives: No matter how deeply broken we may be, there remains an unquenchable, divinely planted spark within each of us that continuously draws us back toward the Source of all goodness. Can we pause to thank God for embedding this sacred, inescapable longing deep within our souls, which silently rescues us even when we feel most lost?
The second group consists of the “others.” These are the ones who brought the demoniac to Jesus. Little is known about them, except that they took the trouble to guide him because they wanted him healed. We are not told what their motives must have been! Yet, the healing was actualized only because of their actions. Afterward, they shared in the collective amazement, wondering if Jesus was indeed the Messiah. Notice their shift in focus from the demoniac to Jesus; their interest moves from an ordinary man to the Son of David.
Then we have the third type: the Pharisees. They demonstrate how a deep-seated prejudice against someone, in this case against Jesus, can create a vast chasm. They are unable to give Him even a single chance to be right; their judgment is already formed and their reasoning is blinded. Much like the demoniac, their mental faculties are severely impaired. Today, let us shake off the negativity that clings to us when we encounter people we have disliked in the past. Let us give love a chance.
Finally, we look at Jesus. Today’s Gospel is sandwiched between two other passages of healing. He continues doing good despite the Pharisees because His focus remains entirely on the works His Father entrusted to Him. Can I keep my eyes fixed on Jesus?
Response: The house of Israel trusts in the Lord.
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