Category: Bible Reading & Meditation

“Beg the harvest Master to send out laborers to gather His harvest.” –Matthew 9:37-38 In this part of Matthew’s gospel, Jesus has been on a healing-deliverance tour. He has lifted up the paralyzed, healed the hemorrhaging woman, raised up the dead, and cured the blind (Mt 9:1ff). Finally, Jesus expelled a demon from the mute man, and the man began to speak (Mt 9:33). Matthew recounts this miracle last to emphasize it. “The harvest is good but laborers are scarce” (Mt 9:37). There are few to proclaim the good news of the kingdom (Mt 9:35). The devil’s got our tongues;...

“My daughter has just died.” –Matthew 9:18 Recall some of the saddest words you have ever said. Maybe you’ve said such things as “She’s dead,” “There’s no hope,” “He’s gone,” “I’m lost,” or “I don’t want to go on.” Like the synagogue leader, bring your sadness to Jesus. “Cast all your cares on Him because He cares for you” (1 Pt 5:7). “We do not have a High Priest Who is unable to sympathize with our weakness” (Heb 4:15). “So let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and favor and to find help in time of...

“My grace is enough for you.” –2 Corinthians 12:9 Alleluia! Every Sunday is Resurrection day, the weekly celebration of that first Easter morning when Jesus rose from the tomb, triumphed over sin and death, and made all things new for us. Today is a day of unity, when believers from all over this earth gather to worship almighty God, listen to His living, all-powerful Word, and receive the Bread of Life, Jesus Himself. Today we learn again that God loves us so much that He can never give us enough of His blessings. Alleluia! How wonderful is God’s plan for...

“I will wall up its breaches, raise up its ruins, and rebuild it as in the days of old.” –Amos 9:11 In our culture of death, many people and things are in ruins. Marriages, families, ministries, neighborhoods, cities, finances, and whole lives are in ruins. Humanly, it is impossible to raise up these ruins. However, “nothing is impossible with God” (Lk 1:37). In fact, the Lord promises that He will raise up even the ancient ruins – lives and things that have been ruined for so long that hardly anyone even thinks of their restoration. Yet the Lord promises: “They...

“Yes, days are coming, says the Lord God, when I will send a famine upon the land: not a famine for bread, or thirst for water, but for hearing the word of the Lord.” –Amos 8:11 St. Matthew was a tax collector who resembled those in today’s first reading who longed to cheat for profit (Am 8:4-6). Nothing has changed in human nature since Amos prophesied. Individuals and corporations continue to exploit people and the land through power plays, shady deals, cheating, and the like in order to make money. Matthew also lived to make money, as that’s what Jews...