Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 10, 7-15
Jesus said to his Apostles:
“As you go, make this proclamation:
‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’
Cure the sick, raise the dead,
cleanse the lepers, drive out demons.
Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.
Do not take gold or silver or copper for your belts;
no sack for the journey, or a second tunic,
or sandals, or walking stick.
The laborer deserves his keep.
Whatever town or village you enter, look for a worthy person in it,
and stay there until you leave.
As you enter a house, wish it peace.
If the house is worthy,
let your peace come upon it;
if not, let your peace return to you.
Whoever will not receive you or listen to your words—
go outside that house or town and shake the dust from your feet.
Amen, I say to you, it will be more tolerable
for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment
than for that town.”
Proclaim and heal
1. The Kingdom of God. Jesus Christ is the Kingdom of God; it’s his person in its entirety. You and I, who are his disciples, are called to tell others about Jesus. This is the Good News. The way we proclaim the message will vary over time and situations. For example, when Pope John Paul II spoke to the people of a communist country about God, he didn’t mention the word God, and said, “the Life”, “the Truth”, and “Happiness”, instead. Today we must proclaim the Kingdom of God, but you must let your creativity flow. Many times, we have presented ourselves as Christians, but we have not proclaimed Christ. We have announced norms or emphasized moral terms, but we have not showed Jesus as the central axis.
2. Heal and raise. Show the strength of God that’s in you. Consider the good that you can do for so many people. You can give so much life to people around you. You can make the lives of those who feel dead inside so beautiful! Your presence, your smile, your joy, your enthusiasm, your sweetness, together with Jesus’s presence can alleviate the lives of many people.
3. Peace. Peace is the key to your life, because if you are going to go out to proclaim, if you are going to contribute positively to someone else’s life, there must be something special in you: you must have peace in your heart. You find peace in Jesus, in the spiritual life you lead, in your relationship with God. Seek your inner peace to give peace to others and help them in their lives. Your peaceful heart can be the seed of peace in this world.
Remember that something good is on the way!
God bless you and be with you in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
