Gospel: July 4, 2024
July 04, 2024 (Thursday)
13th Week in Ordinary Time
Psalter: Week 1 / (Green/White)
St. Elizabeth of Portugal, religious
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 19: 8, 9, 10, 11
The Judgments of the Lord are true, and all of them are just.
1st Reading: Amos 7: 10-17
Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, then sent word to king Jeroboam of Israel, “Amos is conspiring against you in the very center of Israel; what he says goes too far. These are his very words: Jeroboam shall die by the sword and Israel shall be exiled from its land.”
Amaziah then said to Amos, “Off with you, seer, go back to the land of Judah. Earn your bread there by prophesying. But never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is a king’s Sanctuary and a national shrine.”
Amos replied to Amaziah, “I am not a prophet or one of the fellow prophets. I am a breeder of sheep and a dresser of sycamore trees. But Yahweh took me from shepherding the flock and said to me: Go, prophesy to my people Israel.
Now hear the word of Yahweh, you who say: No more prophecy against Israel, no more insults against the family of Isaac! This is what Yahweh says: Your wife shall be made a harlot in the city, your sons and daughters shall fall by the sword, your land shall be divided up and given to others, and you, yourself, shall die in a foreign land, for Israel shall be driven far from its land.”
Gospel: Matthew 9: 1-8
Jesus got back into the boat, crossed the lake again, and came to his hometown. Here, they brought to him a paralyzed man, lying on a bed. Jesus saw their faith and said to the paralytic, “Courage, my son! Your sins are forgiven.” Some teachers of the law said within themselves, “This man insults God.” Jesus was aware of what they were thinking; and said, “Why have you such evil thoughts? Which is easier to say: ‘Your sins are forgiven’ or ‘Stand up and walk’? But that you may know, that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins,” he said to the paralyzed man, “Stand up! Take your stretcher and go home!” The man got up, and went home. When the crowds saw this, they were filled with awe, and praised God for giving such power to human beings.
Reflection: “Stand up!”
Standing may refer to one’s condition. Walking may connote one’s way of life. Our way of life affects our condition. If our way of life is sinful, our condition as a human person will be badly affected. We may be healed of our physical sickness yet remain in our old way of life. We are called to a total healing. True healing is more than just physical. True healing includes our spiritual well-being. In today’s Gospel, Jesus healed a paralyzed man by telling the man initially that his sins were forgiven. Some teachers of the law said to themselves that Jesus must be insulting God because they were thinking that the forgiveness of sins belonged to God alone and that Jesus was only a man. Jesus knew their evil thoughts. Jesus healed the man by telling the man to stand up and walk. It was as if Jesus told the paralyzed man that he would be given a new condition and it would be his responsibility to have a new way of living from that time on. He was forgiven and he must then strive not to sin again. Hence, the essence of healing is a life changed for the better.
