Matthew 9:35 – 10:1, 5a, 6-8 – The Armor of God Blog

Lectio (Reading)

Read the passage twice and get a sense of what it is saying. Pay attention to what strikes you.

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.”

Meditatio (Reflecting)

Slowly read the passage again, pausing on words or phrases that stands out. Take time to consider the meaning. particularly in your life.

The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, drive out demons.

Oratio (Responding)

Read the passage again, slowly. Consider how God has spoken to you and respond back to Him. You may want to consider how this passage is asking you to act differently.

In todays passage, we are focusing on the power and authority that Jesus gave His apostles to heal and exorcise. Many do not know this, and it seems incredible but Jesus gives that same power and authority to all christians, via our baptism. All baptised christians have the power to heal others and even drive out deamons in God’s name, but the average christian is limited in his authortity to do so. Limited solely to those that are under his authority in the sight of God. So for your power to be effective, you need to be exercising that authority in a ways that is ordered by God’s will. Power gives you the ability to do something in Gods name, but it is only under the correct authority that your powers will actually be effective.

Our present day bishops, are the ultimate decendants of Jesus’ first 12 apostles. In todays reading you can see that Jesus gives His bishops the full power to heal and exorcise, but their authority is limited to the jurisdiction of their individual dioceses. Every single soul in their diocese is under their protection and anyone that they also bestow that power on (ie an exorcist). The bishop and his designated exorcist are the only ones that have the authority to drive out deamons in other people in their diocese.

The father of a catholic home has the same power and authority, as a bishop, but the jurisdiction of his authority, is limited to his own home and his own family, and it is very important to stay within the limits of that authority. Acting without the proper authority, or swerving outside of that proper authority, will attract the attention of other deamons and possibly invite relatiation.

Everything in God’s kingdom is governed by power and authority, and if you do not have both, the deamons will notice. And like Father Ripperger says demons are like lawyers from hell, and they follow Gods law to the letter. It is funny actually, but they respect God’s law more than most humans do, for they know that it is real and cannot be denied but they know all the loopholes in the law, and they will exploit them all, and punish you dearly if you step out from under Gods protection.

But the message for today is clear, that (with the proper authority), we have the power to heal and to excorcise, in our homes, in our families, and in our places of work. So, if we have this opportunity, and are properly disposed, we are called to do so…, the kingdom of God depends on it.

Contemplatio (Contemplating)

Take time to simply remain in the presence of God.

Resolutio (Resolving)

Make a resolution that will improve your life, your relationships, or your faith. Make it small and attainable, and do it.

Please lord help me today to find a way to evangelize, and spread your kingdom in this world, and to accept and properly use the authority given to me from above, amen.