From the responsorial psalm: “Once again, O LORD of hosts, look down from heaven, and see: Take care of this vine, and protect what your right hand has planted, the son of man whom you yourself made strong. Let us see your face, Lord, and we shall be saved.”
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 10:7-15)
Jesus said to his Apostles: “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.”
Jesus sends out the apostles with explicit instructions as they proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Relying on God’s providence for all of their needs, including food and shelter, he tells them: “Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, drive out demons.” While his instructions to the apostles on healing seem beyond ordinary human ability, they also apply to our everyday lives. Wish the peace of Christ upon those you encounter, and let your peace return to you if it is not received. Shake off rejection and leave the judgment of others to God.
God, as I make my journey through this day, enough of a distance that I can’t see very far ahead, help me listen to the words of your Son. “Without cost you have received,” Jesus says, “without cost you are to give.” In obedience to him, let me trust in giving the gifts you have first given me—time, talent, and treasure—without worrying about the expense of them. The source of mercy, you will provide; the peace of Christ I wish to others is not lost but returns to me to be given again. As I enter the lives of others today through my words and actions, give me the gifts of wisdom and help me call to mind that you are with me, as you speak through Hosea in the first reading: “For I am God and not man, the Holy One present among you; I will not let the flames consume you.” Saint Benedict, pray for us!
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.