14TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
Psalter: Week 1 / (Green)
Ps 33:2-3, 10-11, 18-19
Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.
1st Reading: Gen 41:55-57; 42:5-7a, 17-24a
When the land of Egypt began to suffer from the famine, the people came to Pharaoh for bread. But Pharaoh told all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph and do as he tells you.” When the famine had spread throughout the land, Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold grain to the Egyptians for the famine was indeed severe over the land. As the famine had worsened throughout the whole world, people came from other countries to buy grain from Joseph.
So the sons of Israel were among those going to buy grain, for there was famine in Canaan. It was Joseph, as governor of the land, who sold the grain to all the people. When his brothers arrived they bowed before him, with their faces to the ground. Joseph recognized his brothers but did not make himself known and, instead, harshly said to them, “Where do you come from?” And they answered, “We come from the land of Canaan to buy grain for food.”
And so he put them all in prison for three days.
On the third day Joseph said to them, “I will help you to save yourselves, for I am a man who fears God. If you are sincere, let one of your brothers remain prisoner in the house of the guard where you now are, and the rest of you take the grain to save your families from famine. Then you will bring back your youngest brother; so the truth of what you say will be proved and your lives spared.” They did as they were ordered and said among themselves, “Alas! We are guilty because of the way we treated our brother when he pleaded with us for mercy, but we didn’t listen. That is why this trouble has come upon us.”
Reuben answered them, “Didn’t I tell you not to sin against the boy. But you did not listen and now we are brought to account for his blood.” Now they did not know that Joseph understood them as there was an interpreter between them. As for Joseph, he withdrew and wept. When he came back, he spoke to them and took Simeon and had him bound and put in prison while they looked on.
Gospel: Mt 10:1-7
Jesus called his Twelve disciples to him, and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to drive them out, and to heal every disease and sickness.
These are the names of the Twelve apostles: 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 Thaddaeus; Simon, the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, the man who would betray him.
Jesus sent these Twelve on mission, with the instructions: “Do not visit pagan territory and do not enter a Samaritan town. Go, instead, to the lost sheep of the people of Israel.
Go, and proclaim this message: The kingdom of heaven is near.
REFLECTION:
To guarantee success in the realization of their vision and goals, people in the corporate world are quite careful with their choice of officers, the people who comprise the “core-group“ of their companies. More often than not they are “the best and the brightest“ who make it to the list. Jesus’ choice of disciples who would constitute the pillars of the Church is thus a big puzzle. It is definitely not a group of professionals with impressive resumes. The opposite is true. He chose ordinary citizens to carry out the toughest mission in history–the proclamation of the Good News about the Kingdom of God. Most of them were simple fishermen. One was Simon, a troublemaker. Matthew was perceived by many as a corrupt tax collector. This is one way of saying that evangelization is primarily the work of God. But he allows ordinary people like you and me to participate in this important task. This is his way of acknowledging the value of whatever little contribution we can give to advance the cause of the Kingdom.
Daily Reflection
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Biblical Texts are taken from Christian Community Bible, Catholic Pastoral Edition (57th Edition) The New English Translation for the ROMAN MISSAL
With permission from the EPISCOPAL COMMISION ON LITURGY of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines
Readings and Reflections
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