Bible
Study: Isaiah 30, 19 to 26. And Matthew 9, 35 to 10, 8.
From our
readings today, we see an image of God with the heart of a mother. According to
Isaiah, “you shall weep no more. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound
of your cry; when he hears it, he will answer you.” Isaiah 30 verse 19. And
then coming to the Gospel passage, Matthew describes the feeling of Jesus
towards the people: “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them,
because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” Matthew
9, 36.
The word “compassion”
means “to suffer with.” To have compassion for someone is deeper than pity. It is
more than a mere feeling of concern. To be compassionate is to step into the
person’s shoes and literally take up the burden of that person and this is
exactly what Jesus Christ did by accepting to become a man like us.
Christmas
is a celebration of the compassion of God. To really understand what happens at
Christmas, a story was told by one preacher. Once upon a time, there was a
problem in the rat community and when scientists observed it, they discovered
the rats were falling sick and dying because of their pattern of life. The scientists
did all they could possibly do to control the behaviour of the rats, tempt them
with food and so on but they did not seem to understand and their population
kept reducing. Out of frustration, one scientist said: “How I wish I can just
talk to these rats!” Then another said: “We have what it takes to turn you into
a rat, but would you mind becoming a rat so as to save the rat community?”
Dear
friends, only a compassionate God would go to the extent of becoming a man to
save us. As we celebrate the Jubilee year of mercy, we are again reminded that
the heart of God is one that literally bleeds to see us live well and according
to his precepts.
When Jesus
saw the crowds, he knew their problem was not physical hunger or material lack,
their problem was deeply spiritual so he “called to him his twelve disciples
and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal
every disease and every infirmity.” There are a lot of unclean spirits ravaging
mankind today, they include: spirit of materialism, avarice and greed, spirit
of immorality; indecency, sensuality, pornography, homosexuality, marital infidelity,
unchastity, spirit of stealing, telling of lies and corruption, spirit of
pride, self-conceit and stinginess. And because we do not know that these are unclean
spirits, we laugh over them yet these spirits continue oppressing mankind
keeping people stuck in sin and unable to freely worship God with their hearts,
souls and bodies.
It is the
activities of the unclean spirits that manifest in physical sickness. We are
bruised and in dire need of healing. And this healing comes by hearing the word
of God and repenting from the old ways. Preaching comes before healing,
preaching leads to healing. Jesus said to the disciples whom he sent out: “And
preach as you go, saying, `The kingdom of heaven is at hand.' Heal the sick,
raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying,
give without pay.” Matthew 10, 7 to 8.
Let us
Pray:
Lord
Jesus, I need your healing, free me from the captivity of unclean spirits that I
may serve you with all my heart and soul. Amen.
Good morning.
Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. Happy Weekend.
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