Daily Gospel Reflections
Today’s Scripture Readings
Luke 9:1‐6
Then Jesus called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases,
and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal.
He said to them, ‘Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money—not even an extra tunic.
Whatever house you enter, stay there, and leave from there.
Wherever they do not welcome you, as you are leaving that town shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.’
They departed and went through the villages, bringing the good news and curing diseases everywhere.
Reflection
Becoming a Symphony of Hope.
‘They departed and went through the villages, bringing the good news and curing diseases everywhere.’ (Luke 9:6)
Most creatures can turn the air around them into sound that reflects or adds to the grandeur of God but as humans we are able to use that sound to honour and proclaim the truth of the life, death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Our Baptism is not an invitation into a philosophy or a theology but a welcome into the divine family of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
In today’s Gospel we read that Jesus commissioned His apostles with His power and authority. Similarly, prior to His ascension, Jesus gave his followers the great commission: “Go into all the world and proclaim the Good News!” (Mark 16:15) This remains the essential mission of the Church.
How well are we travelling? With rising levels of domestic violence, mental health issues and homelessness on the national landscape and war and destruction on the international scene, the need for proclaiming the Good News is as urgent as ever. While our individual capability to effect change may seem limited, together as a Church, harnessing the power of the Gospel, much can be achieved.
Let us sincerely and constantly pray that this Jubilee Year of Hope fulfils its purpose, namely ,that ‘For everyone, may the Jubilee be a moment of genuine, personal encounter with the Lord Jesus, the “door” (cf. John 10:7.9) of our salvation, whom the Church is charged to proclaim always, everywhere and to all as “our hope” (1 Timothy 1:1). (Pope Francis Bull of Indiction n.1.)
