13 JULY 2023 – Thursday of 14th week ordinary time – Matthew 10:7-15

         In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us that the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Then, as a part of their proclamation of God’s kingdom, Jesus tells his apostles to do certain things: cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, drive out demons. We might be wondering: How are we supposed to do these things as  followers of Christ here in the Jackson metro area at the beginning of the 21st century? Well, let’s look at curing the sick. While most of us listening to God’s word do not have to power to perform miracles of healing and most of us here at mass today are not medical professionals, there are other ways we can cure the sick. When I think of the inmates I visit at the prisons, a lot of them are sick in body, mind, and spirit.  I really don’t know how some of those inmates cope with their daily lives each day and their living conditions. Many of them have a lot of physical infirmities and it seems rather difficult for them to get proper medical help on a timely basis.  One of the men at the Mass this past weekend was telling me about how he is going to have both his leg amputated and that this surgery has been postponed numerous time.  A lot these men suffer mental health issues and depression. Just our presence with them and our encouraging words and the Good News of Jesus Christ that we bring can help bring healing on their journey. One message I try to give them is that we try to bloom where we are planted. I tell them that even though they do not want to be here in prison locked behind bars, that is where they are at, and they are seek God in their lives and to allow him to transfer them. I also have hope that the Eucharist that they receive at Mass in the prison may bring them some form of hope and healing.  

     When we look at God’s Word, in the way it pertains to the people of Ancient Israel and to the particular circumstance of their culture and that place in time, perhaps at times it does not seem like it is speaking directly to us on the surface.  But when we break open his Word and reflect on it in the light of the signs of our own times, God indeed has a message that is very relevant for us today.