Word to the Wise
Wednesday, July 9, 2025 - Wednesday in the 14th Week in Ordinary Time
[Gen 41:55-57; 42:5-7a, 17-24a and Matt 10:1-7]Jesus summoned his Twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out and to cure every disease and every illness. The names of the Twelve Apostles are these: first,, Simon called Peter, and his brother Andrew; James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew,, Thomas, and Matthew the tax collector; James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus; Simon the CAnanean, and Judas Iscariot who betrayed Jesus. Jesus sent out these Twelve after instructing them thus, "Do not go into pagan territory or enter a Samaritan town. Go rather to the lost sheep of the House of Israel. As you go make this proclamation: "The Kingdom of heaven is at hand." [Matthew]
JULY 9, [Dominican martyrs in Europe and China]
The gospel passage today marks a significant moment in Jesus' ministry and in the history of Christianity! Up to this point, Jesus had been a one man show. He now calls others to join in his ministry and shares his healing power with them. He sends them out to heal and to preach. It is worth noting, in a gospel directed at a primarily Jewish-Christian community, that initially the scope of the mission was narrowed to Jewish people, but we know that elsewhere in Matthew, Jesus hints at a far wider scope. [cf. the centurion's servant 8:11-12 and the daughter of the Canaanite woman 15:21-28]. Indeed, at the end of Matthew, the disciples are sent to "make disciples of all nations..." [Matthew 28:19]. The very word, "apostle," comes from a Greek word meaning someone sent on a mission!
But those chosen were a mixed bag, to be sure! And the gospel doesn't whitewash them. We know of Simon Peter's impulsive and fickle faith. We know of Thomas and Bartholomew [Nathaniel]'s skepticism. We know that Matthew was a despised tax collector who made his living off commissions...
The broader mission is now ours to carry on and what a mixed bag the Body of Christ includes! When Jesus remarks at the dinner party at Matthew's house that he has not come to call the righteous but sinners, he wasn't joking!! We cannot escape the responsibility by saying that the mission belongs only to the bishops and other "ordained" persons! Our baptism makes us disciples and we are sent to proclaim "the Kingdom of heaven is at hand!" AMEN
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