Eucharistic Readings for Sunday of Proper 5: Year A
Hosea 5:15-6:6; Psalm 50:7-15; Romans 4:13-25; Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26
“Come, let us return to the Lord; for it is he who has torn, and he will heal us; he has struck down, and he will bind us up.” (Hosea 6:1)
I searched diligently to find words in our Gospel reading that would capture both the beginning verses and the last verses. I could not even use the middle (Matthew 9: 14 to 17), which is left for our own reading at home. It is about new wine in new wineskins. Basically, Jesus gives us the new interpretation of all the words written before he walked among us, which is The New Testament. And even though we, in many ways, have been misdirected, Jesus is our return to grace and love. Jesus meets the very author of this Gospel, Levi, or Matthew, and gives him the words we all need to hear, “Come and follow me.” Matthew hears the invitation, “Come, let us return to the Lord.” And he leaves his tax collector booth and follows our Lord Jesus.
The second part of our Gospel follows the power of faith as it is witnessed by a synagogue official concerned about his daughter who has died, and a woman who had been hemorrhaging for twelve years.
The synagogue official would be someone well versed in the Hebrew tradition and teachings. But faith in what he sees in our Lord Jesus makes him realize that Jesus is truly the summation of all he has learned. So he comes to Jesus in a desperate effort to restore his daughter.
The words “unexpected opportunities” come to my mind here. In our Cursillo Reunion group the question often asked is, “with what unexpected opportunities has the Lord accomplished through you?” This question has given me cause for concern. If a situation is unexpected, meaning, we didn’t see it coming, how can it then be an opportunity? But Jesus shows me, shows us, how we are to deal with unexpected opportunities. When a woman who has been bleeding for twelve years, and who has sought help from physicians to no avail, now places all her hopes on Jesus. While Jesus is focused on the synagogue leader’s daughter, he pauses to help in an unexpected opportunity. This woman needed Jesus. This faith of hers, makes her well. Jesus uses the faith in us to heal us.
The tax collector, the leader of the synagogue and the bleeding woman, as well as you and I, must see our life situation as fixable only through our Lord Jesus. “Come, let us return to the Lord; for it is he who has torn, and he will heal us; he has struck down, and he will bind us up.” Perhaps this is new wine in new wineskins.
Please keep up your thoughts and prayers and hopes for Ukraine, Russia, and our schools.
As we listen to what the Spirit of God is saying to us, let us live to love and serve, and to teach others to love and serve, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John
onewhoponders 