2023-10-27 15:20:30
Reflections on the Scripture Readings of the Ninth Sunday of the Elijah-Sliwa-Moses Period in the Syro-Malabar Congregational Liturgy.
Gospel Review Matthew 8, 23 – 9, 8 – Audio
Monsignor Joji Vadakara, Vatican City
We read regarding the three miracles in which Jesus triumphs over the forces that make human life difficult and comforts the people who are going through suffering in the verses of the Gospel of Saint Matthew from the eighth chapter twenty-three to the ninth chapter eight. Like St. Matthew the Evangelist, St. Mark and Luke recount these miracles with slight changes. These miracles we read in today’s gospel are the calming of the storm that threatens even their lives while traveling with the disciples on the sea, the freeing of two demon-possessed men in the land of Gadara from the scourge that threatened their lives and the lives of those passing by as travelers, the healing of a bedridden paralytic who might not stand up like ordinary people, and the forgiveness of his sins.
The Nine Miracles and Discipleship
In chapters eight and nine of his Gospel, St. Matthew writes regarding the various miracles Jesus performs. Saint Matthew organizes the miracles into three groups: the healing of the leper, the centurion’s servant from paralysis, the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law, the calming of the storm, the healing of the demon-possessed, the healing of the paralytic, the healing of the bleeding woman, the restoration of the ruler’s daughter to life, the giving of sight to the blind, and the healing of the mute. Saint Matthew also records Jesus’ exhortations on discipleship following each group. The second set of miracles is found in verses from the eighth chapter twenty-three to the ninth chapter eight. Jesus who preaches, teaches and heals the word of salvation. Christ proclaims the truth that he is the Messiah and Savior through word and deed. But also a chosen people who are not willing to recognize and accept him.
The Storm and the Last Day
In the first miracle, we see Jesus providing protection from the storm and sea rage to the disciples traveling on the sea. This is an event that illustrates God’s control over the forces of the universe. This is an experience that gives people the conviction that God is the creator in the universe, which is God’s creation. The storm and the great storms also raise before us a thought related to the coming of the kingdom of God. This event calls our attention to what will happen when the Son of Man arrives at the last day. In the twenty-fourth chapter of the Gospel of St. Matthew, where it is related to the second coming of Christ, it also talks regarding famines and earthquakes (Matthew 24, 7). Similarly, in the twenty-seventh chapter of the Gospel of Saint Matthew, it is described that the earth shook and the rocks split apart at the time of Jesus’ death (Matthew 27, 51). In front of the disciples who were going through such a powerful experience of natural turmoil, the Son of God brings calmness and reveals His power. Fear and mistrust are two closely related things. Where there is faith there is no place for fear. These Gospel verses remind us that if you truly believe in Jesus, your faith in Jesus Christ will not diminish in the winds and hail of your life and the trials that threaten even your life.
Demon possessed and lord of life
The healing of the demon-possessed at Gadara is another manifestation of God’s power. It was the devil who made two men so dangerous that people were afraid to even walk on the road. The same devil is the cause of pigs drowning in the sea. Yet the people of that town keep Christ, who saved two human lives from the power of evil, away from their borders. These people must have been Gentiles. Jews do not raise pigs, which are forbidden to them. Therefore it must have been the land of the Gentiles. The Gospel testifies that the good that Jesus did not only for the two men among them, but also for the people who were traveling that way, was not accepted. But it is the devil who identifies Jesus as the Son of God. Jesus does not answer the devil’s question, “Why are you interfering with us?” But we can read that answer when Jesus restores the demon-possessed to freedom. Jesus intervenes in the lives of every human being in order to bring people who are enslaved by evil back to their true glory as children of God. He is the God who gives salvation, life and freedom to God’s children.
Sickness, Sin, and Christ the Redeemer
The healing of the paralytic in the first part of Matthew’s Gospel is an event that reveals that Jesus, the Son of God, is the God who can forgive sins. It must be assumed that the paralytic had the conviction that he was a sinner. Jesus is rewriting the Jewish concept that a sinner cannot expect miracles from God. Jesus proves that he is the Son of Man who can forgive sins, which the scribes did not recognize, by forgiving the sins of the paralytic, healing him, and sending him home. The Gospel testifies that the people who were there glorified God when they saw this.
Son of God who has authority over all
Through these three miracles, we understand that Jesus Christ reveals that he has the power to defeat and control everything that makes human life miserable. We know that it is impossible for man to triumph over such evils. But this Gospel also gives us a call to glorify Jesus Christ, the Son of God and the Son of Man, realizing that this is possible. In short, we need to accept Jesus of Nazareth as our Lord and Savior in order to receive God’s salvation.
In the verses from chapter eight of the book of the prophet Isaiah, the prophet writes regarding God’s love and concern for Israel. “Fear not, I am with you. Do not be dismayed, I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will uphold you with my victorious right hand” (Isaiah 41, 10). If we believe in Jesus, if we make him the immortal of life, let the thought that our lives will not fall into eternal destruction, that the evils, sins, and diseases in our lives will be removed, and that he will always be with us as the savior God, fill our lives with comfort and joy. Let us remember what the Holy Mother said at the wedding feast at Cana, “Do whatever he tells you.” May we be able to always know God’s will in life, walk His way, and feel the presence of Christ. May God bless us abundantly.
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