THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS CLOSE AT HAND
Wednesday of the Fourteenth week in Ordinary Time -10 July 2013
First Reading: Genesis 41:55-57.42:5-7a.17-24a.
When hunger came to be felt throughout the land of
Egypt and the people cried to Pharaoh for bread, Pharaoh directed all the
Egyptians to go to Joseph and do whatever he told them.
When the famine had spread throughout the land, Joseph opened all the cities that had grain and rationed it to the Egyptians, since the famine had gripped the land of Egypt.
In fact, all the world came to Joseph to obtain rations of grain, for famine had gripped the whole world.
Thus, since there was famine in the land of Canaan also, the sons of Israel were among those who came to procure rations.
It was Joseph, as governor of the country, who dispensed the rations to all the people. When Joseph's brothers came and knelt down before him with their faces to the ground, he recognized them as soon as he saw them. But he concealed his own identity from them and spoke sternly to them. "Where do you come from?" he asked them. They answered, "From the land of Canaan, to procure food."
With that, he locked them up in the guardhouse for three days.
On the third day Joseph said to them: "Do this, and you shall live; for I am a God-fearing man. If you have been honest, only one of your brothers need be confined in this prison, while the rest of you may go and take home provisions for your starving families. But you must come back to me with your youngest brother. Your words will thus be verified, and you will not die." To this they agreed.
To one another, however, they said: "Alas, we are being punished because of our brother. We saw the anguish of his heart when he pleaded with us, yet we paid no heed; that is why this anguish has now come upon us."
"Didn't I tell you," broke in Reuben, "not to do wrong to the boy? But you wouldn't listen! Now comes the reckoning for his blood."
They did not know, of course, that Joseph understood what they said, since he spoke with them through an interpreter.
But turning away from them, he wept. When he was able to speak to them again, he had Simeon taken from them and bound before their eyes.
When the famine had spread throughout the land, Joseph opened all the cities that had grain and rationed it to the Egyptians, since the famine had gripped the land of Egypt.
In fact, all the world came to Joseph to obtain rations of grain, for famine had gripped the whole world.
Thus, since there was famine in the land of Canaan also, the sons of Israel were among those who came to procure rations.
It was Joseph, as governor of the country, who dispensed the rations to all the people. When Joseph's brothers came and knelt down before him with their faces to the ground, he recognized them as soon as he saw them. But he concealed his own identity from them and spoke sternly to them. "Where do you come from?" he asked them. They answered, "From the land of Canaan, to procure food."
With that, he locked them up in the guardhouse for three days.
On the third day Joseph said to them: "Do this, and you shall live; for I am a God-fearing man. If you have been honest, only one of your brothers need be confined in this prison, while the rest of you may go and take home provisions for your starving families. But you must come back to me with your youngest brother. Your words will thus be verified, and you will not die." To this they agreed.
To one another, however, they said: "Alas, we are being punished because of our brother. We saw the anguish of his heart when he pleaded with us, yet we paid no heed; that is why this anguish has now come upon us."
"Didn't I tell you," broke in Reuben, "not to do wrong to the boy? But you wouldn't listen! Now comes the reckoning for his blood."
They did not know, of course, that Joseph understood what they said, since he spoke with them through an interpreter.
But turning away from them, he wept. When he was able to speak to them again, he had Simeon taken from them and bound before their eyes.
Psalm 33
Give thanks to the LORD on the harp;
With the ten stringed lyre chant his praises.
Sing to him a new song;
Pluck the strings skillfully, with shouts of gladness.
The LORD brings to nought the plans of nations;
He foils the designs of peoples.
But the plan of the LORD stands forever;
The design of his heart, through all generations.
But see, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear him,
Upon those who hope for his kindness,
To deliver them from death
And preserve them in spite of famine.
With the ten stringed lyre chant his praises.
Sing to him a new song;
Pluck the strings skillfully, with shouts of gladness.
The LORD brings to nought the plans of nations;
He foils the designs of peoples.
But the plan of the LORD stands forever;
The design of his heart, through all generations.
But see, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear him,
Upon those who hope for his kindness,
To deliver them from death
And preserve them in spite of famine.
Mt 10:1-7.
Jesus summoned his Twelve disciples and gave them
authority over unclean spirits to drive them out and to cure every disease and
every illness.
The names of the twelve apostles are these: 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 Thaddeus; Simon the Cananean, and Judas Iscariot who betrayed him.
Jesus sent out these twelve after instructing them thus, "Do not go into pagan territory or enter a Samaritan town. Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, make this proclamation: 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.'
The names of the twelve apostles are these: 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 Thaddeus; Simon the Cananean, and Judas Iscariot who betrayed him.
Jesus sent out these twelve after instructing them thus, "Do not go into pagan territory or enter a Samaritan town. Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, make this proclamation: 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.'
Commentary:
"The kingdom of heaven is at hand."
How many times have you heard that said? Different sects of Christianity have been making predictions for the end of time for generations and they have so far been all wrong. Well, one thing is certain. We are getting closer day by day & for the person who dies today, this is the end of time for them.
So do you think of your own mortality? I often say to Josefina when she accuses me of not worrying about the future for us, "My future is a lot shorter than yours, so its right for you to be more worried".
I am not scared of death. I feel I am doing something to prepare for it & continue to see my mission as to tell others about THEIR eternal destiny. To wake people up from their apathy and lack of concern for their ultimate oblivion.
We need to be always focussed on where we are going so that we know we are on the right path to getting there.
Each day you are getting closer to your death but are you getting closer to the Kingdom of Heaven?
Blessed John-Paul II, (Pope from 1978 to 2005) had this to say in his
Encyclical letter “Redemptoris Missio”, p. 42
People today put more trust in witnesses than in teachers, in experience than in teaching, and in life and action than in theories. The witness of a Christian life is the first and irreplaceable form of mission: Christ, whose mission we continue, is the "witness" par excellence (Rv 1:5; 3:14) and the model of all Christian witness... The first form of witness is the very life of the missionary, of the Christian family, and of the ecclesial community, which reveal a new way of living. The missionary who, despite all his or her human limitations and defects, lives a simple life, taking Christ as the model, is a sign of God and of transcendent realities. But everyone in the Church, striving to imitate the Divine Master, can and must bear this kind of witness; in many cases it is the only possible way of being a missionary.The evangelical witness which the world finds most appealing is that of concern for people, and of charity toward the poor, the weak and those who suffer. The complete generosity underlying this attitude and these actions stands in marked contrast to human selfishness. It raises precise questions which lead to God and to the Gospel. A commitment to peace, justice, human rights and human promotion is also a witness to the Gospel when it is a sign of concern for persons and is directed toward integral human development.
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