Faith Daily | 6 July 2022

PRAYER of the DAY - APBA p 558

O God,

you have prepared for those who love you

such good things as pass our understanding:

pour into our hearts such love toward you,

that, loving you above all things,

we may obtain your promises

which exceed all that we can desire;

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen

GOSPEL for the Day: Matthew 10: 1-7

Then Jesus summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness. 2These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon, also known as Peter, and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; 3Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed him.

5These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, 6but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7As you go, proclaim the good news, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’

GOSPEL REFLECTION: Allan Bell

This passage continues the account of the selection and training of the twelve apostles. It is also found in the gospels of both Mark and Luke. At first when I read the list of the twelve, the name Thaddaeus stood out. I recognized all the other disciples and had to be reminded by my study Bible that Thaddaeus is Jude whose short letter is found just before Revelations in the New Testament.

Jesus seems to be providing training wheels for these newly appointed apostles.

They are listed in pairs to be sent out together: for security when travelling, to bolster credibility by providing the testimony of more than one witness and for mutual support during their training period.

Their initial training mission is limited to proclaiming the Good News to the Jews. At this time Gentiles and Samaritans were in many cases hostile toward the Jews making them a poor choice for the apostles’ first attempts at spreading the word and continuing the healing work of Jesus.

The headline message they are to spread is clear ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ This echoes the words of John the Baptist earlier in Mathew 3: 2. It highlights that the reign of God through Jesus is to be established in the hearts of his people, overcoming evil, removing sin and death, and creating the new order of righteousness, love and peace. Good News indeed!

FINAL PRAYER Benediction from Jude 1:24 -25

Now to him who is able to keep you from falling, and to make you stand without blemish in the presence of his glory with rejoicing, to the only God our Saviour, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority, before all time and now and forever.

Amen.