Reflection for Thursday, Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Today's Word
By
Fr. Aloysius Santiago sdb
Rector and Parish Priest
Don Bosco Shrine
Lingarajapuram, Bangalore
Mathew: 10:8 "Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment."
Today's Reflection
When Jesus sends out the Twelve to share in his mission in today’s gospel reading, it seems as if he is sending them out in a general state of unpreparedness.
The usual resources that people would take with them for a long and demanding journey are being denied to them.
From a human point of view, Jesus sending out his disciples almost devoid of the usual resources seems foolhardy.
Jesus had a habit of speaking or behaving in an exaggerated way to make his point strongly.
In sending out his disciples in such a vulnerable state, Jesus was teaching them not to be over reliant on their own human resources, but to rely on the Lord to provide for them.
The value of self-reliance is an even stronger one today than it would have been in the much more communal culture of Jesus.
We have been taught to leave nothing to chance.
We must plan for every eventuality.
Yet, when it comes to the work of the Lord in our time, we need to have a light hold on all our many resources and to allow room for the Lord himself to work.
We can be so absorbed in the work of the Lord that we can side-line the Lord of the work.
If we excessively provide for ourselves, including our work in the Lord’s service, we can forget that the Lord is the ultimate provider.
Poverty of resources can sometimes allow the Lord to work more powerfully than he could if we had every eventuality covered in advance.
The Lord is always inviting us to step out of the boat, trusting that he will not let us sink.
Resolution
Let's resolve to trust in Saint Paul who reminds us, that the Lord’s power is often made perfect in weakness.
Good Morning
Have an awesome and stress less day
Pray for the speedy recovery of Pope Francis.