Daily Reflection – Dec 3, 2016

Saturday 3 December 2016

First Reading: Isaiah 30:19-21, 23-26
Responsorial Psalm:
Happy are all who long for the coming of the Lord
Psalm 146(147):1-6
Gospel Reading: Matthew 9:35 – 10:1, 6-8

Today’s Saint: St Francis Xavier, Priest (Memorial)

Gospel Reading:

Jesus went around to all the towns and villages,
teaching in their synagogues,
proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom,
and curing every disease and illness.
At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them
because they were troubled and abandoned,
like sheep without a shepherd.
Then he said to his disciples,
“The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few;
so ask the master of the harvest
to send out laborers for his harvest.”

Then he summoned his Twelve disciples
and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out
and to cure every disease and every illness.

Jesus sent out these Twelve after instructing them thus,
“Go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’
Cure the sick, raise the dead,
cleanse lepers, drive out demons.
Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.”

Reflection:

A voice shall sound in your ears: “This is the way; walk in it.” (Isaiah 30:21)

Over the past ten years, GPS, or Global Positioning System, programs and devices have become very popular. GPS works by receiving data from dozens of satellites to pinpoint your exact location. Using this information, software companies like Google and Apple have developed applications that will guide you from where you are to just about any location in the world.

Judging from today’s first reading, we might think of Jesus as our own personal GPS device. Through his Spirit, he wants to direct our steps so that we can live an upright life free from sin. Isn’t it comforting to know that we have the Lord to guide us?

But we should be careful not to reduce Jesus to a moral compass. It’s one thing to ask Jesus to direct your steps, but it’s another thing to develop a relationship with him.

Isaiah made this point when he promised that God would be “gracious” to us and that he does not want to “hide himself” from us (Isaiah 30:19, 20).

Can I really hear God speak to me in such a personal way? Yes! Here is one simple way: God speaks to us through the Scriptures. So read your Bible every day. Pray about the daily Mass readings. Even try playing “Bible Roulette” by opening your Bible randomly and reading the first verse that your eyes land on.

If something jumps out at you while you’re reading, ask how it might apply to your life—to the way you think, to the way you speak, or to the way you relate to people. When your child or spouse comes home or when a neighbor calls or when a priest gives a homily, and one of them says something that coincides with what you have read that day or the day before, consider the possibility that God is speaking to you. If you follow through and try to live out that word and if you keep doing this, you’ll find yourself feeling closer and closer to God. You’ll be developing a living, loving relationship with him.

So read the Bible every day. Let God’s still small voice lead you to love him and his people more and more each day.

“Jesus, open my ears to hear your voice.”