Today’s
gospel say that, “Jesus went about from one town to the other doing good.” We
were not told that he healed only the poor or the rich, or the liberals or the
conservative. Rather, he allowed his blessings to reach the poor as well as the
rich, the good as well as the bad, the pure and impure. Jesus did not
discriminate or show favoritism. Instead, he identified with all classes of
people. The Lord visited and eat with Zacchaeus, the sinner and tax collector
and, he became a better person. He healed the daughter of Jairus, the Roman
centurion who was both wealthy and a gentile. He spoke with, and restored the
life and faith of a Samaritan woman, which according to the Jews was a grave
sin. Among his apostles was Levi, a very rich tax collector who today is Saint
Matthew. On the other hand, He healed many poor blind, lame, deaf and dumb
people. “He did all things well” without showing favoritism, or minding the
race, the economic, social, religious and, political status of those he helped.
The invitation today is very simple to understand: to imitate Jesus today by aiming at doing good to
all, healing the wounded, helping others in need without favoritism or, minding
their status. We should be motivated by the fact that, “God created all of us
in his own image and likeness”[1].
So, we must strive to be better than others in generosity and goodness, rather
than in favoritism. God wishes to heal us and our world. As his instruments, we
must emulate the generosity of Christ his Son. We must go about doing good and
reaching out to those in need irrespective of who they are, their status, and
class in life. But to achieve this, the point of departure is a friendship, a
deep relationship with Jesus. The Holy Father pope Francis explains it much
better: «Only
on the basis of God’s gift, freely accepted and humbly received, can we
cooperate by our own efforts in our progressive transformation.[62] We must
first belong to God, offering ourselves to him who was there first, and
entrusting to him our abilities, our efforts, our struggle against evil and our
creativity, so that his free gift may grow and develop within us: “I appeal to
you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a
living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God”[2].
For that matter, the Church has always taught that charity alone makes growth
in the life of grace possible, for “if I do not have love, I am nothing”[3]»[4]
• AE
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