July 7, 2026 Tuesday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time Gospel: Mt 9:32-38
Today is Tuesday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time. The passage from the Gospel according to Saint Matthew presents to us the comments people made regarding what Jesus did during His time, as well as Jesus’ response to them. I would like to take this opportunity to offer some reflections.
First, Matthew tells us that Jesus caused a mute person possessed by a demon to speak (cf. Mt 9:32-34). People said that Jesus did this not by the power of His being the Messiah of God, but by Beelzebul, a god of the Gentiles. Who is Beelzebul? Beelzebul was an idol worshipped by the Philistines in the plain of Sharon; there was a temple dedicated to him in Ekron. Originally a deity associated with healing calamities, some Jews, when they did not receive grace from their God, would secretly go to Ekron to seek healing from Beelzebul. Therefore, this was clearly a pagan false god. Those who followed the thinking of this false god were precisely those who refused to accept what Jesus taught concerning the ways of God’s world. The reason the Jews refused to acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah of God was that they longed for a Messiah who would lead them to victory over the Roman Empire.
Next, Matthew tells us that when Jesus saw the crowds, He called them sheep without a shepherd (cf. Mt 9:36-38). This did not mean they had no shepherds, but rather that those who preached God to them were leading them away from what Jesus proclaimed about God. For the Pharisees taught the people through parables; in interpreting the Law, they included ancestral prohibitions, customs, and traditions—what they called the traditions of the elders. The God preached by the Sadducees was a God who excessively demanded sacrifices; whoever did not offer sacrifices to this God would be severely punished. Our Lord Jesus Christ preached a God who delights in His people—not a harsh God, nor a God who loves sacrifices, but a God who takes the initiative to give and constantly draws near to His creation. Therefore, He placed special emphasis on care for parents rather than replacing such care with sacrifices and Mass offerings. The scribes, priests, and elders of the people came precisely from among them. The Herodians were soldiers of King Herod, who deceived the Jews by claiming that Herod was the Messiah. Influenced by them, the Jews were greatly troubled, to the point that they no longer knew who God truly was or how to understand the Law of God. Jesus compared these Jews to a harvest, and those who preached the word of God to workers.
Saint John Chrysostom tells us that Jesus implicitly revealed Himself as the Master, for He Himself is the Lord of the harvest. If He sent the Apostles to reap what they had not sown, it was clearly not to reap another’s harvest, but to gather what He had sown through the prophets. Although the Twelve Apostles were workers, He said, “Ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers,” yet He did not add to their number; rather, He multiplied these Twelve many times over—not by increasing their numbers, but by granting them more abundant grace (cf. St. Thomas Aquinas, Catena Aurea, vol. 1, Commentary on Matthew).
Today, we often encounter people who have lost their ability to speak or are physically disabled. We frequently choose to keep our distance from them, fearing that associating with them might bring misfortune upon ourselves. We may even think that their illness is entirely justified, that we have no obligation to help them, and that their life or death is none of our concern. When such thoughts arise in our hearts, we become like the Pharisees—concerned only for our own lives and unwilling to care for the lives of others. Therefore, let us strive to imitate the virtue of Jesus Christ, set aside our own fixations, and see the world through the eyes of Jesus.
O God, who in the abasement of your Son have raised up a fallen world, fill your faithful with holy joy, for on those you have rescued from slavery to sin you bestow eternal gladness. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever
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