THE MESSAGE OF THE KINGDOM

Mt 9:35-10:1, 5a, 6-8

Our first reading today tells us that God will listen to the cry of his people. And when he comes, he will bind up their wounds and completely heal them. This promise is fulfilled in Jesus Christ who “went around to all the towns and villages teaching in the synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every sickness and disease.” This Gospel passage has two parts: (a) A brief summary of the apostolic activity of Jesus, and (b) the beginning of the “Sermon about the Mission”.

After the brief summary of the apostolic activity of Jesus, Saint Matthew makes a direct connection between the apostles and what Jesus did as to show that the apostles are to carry on Jesus’ work. Jesus chose his 12 companions (disciples) to continue the proclamation of the Kingdom. He empowered them to proclaim the message of the kingdom, to heal all kinds of diseases and to drive away demons. In our context today, this authority has been given to us in the church through the sacraments. We are called, especially during this Advent period, to proclaim the message of the kingdom, to heal the sick and to drive away demons. “Without cost we have received; without cost we are to give.” As we celebrate the feast of Saint Ambrose, there is an interesting event in his life that can inspire us on how to proclaim the message of the kingdom.

When the enemies invaded the empire and took Christians as captives, Ambrose paid out all the money he had in ransom. He even took all gold vessels belonging to the Church and had them melted down. He said, "It is a better thing to save souls for the Lord than to save treasures. He who sent forth his apostles without gold had not need of gold to form his Church. The Church possesses gold, not to hoard, but to scatter abroad and come to the aid of the unfortunate.

"Would not the Lord say to us: 'Why have you let so many needy perish of hunger? Since you had gold, you should provide for their needs'...Could we say: 'I feared to leave the temple of God without ornament.' But that which can't be bought with gold does not take its value from gold. The best way to use the gold of the Redeemer is for the redemption of those in peril."

Ambrose often reproached the wealthy for ignoring the poor: "God created the universe in such a manner that all in common might derive their food from it, and that the earth should also be a property common to all. Why do you reject one who has the same rights over nature as you? It is not from your own goods that you give to the beggar; it is a portion of his own that you are restoring to him. The earth belongs to all. So you are paying back a debt and think you are making a gift to which you are not bound."

At the end the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches us that: “The disciple of Christ must not only keep the faith and live on it but also profess it, confidently bear witness to it and spread it” (CCC no. 1816). Faith is a free gift from God, and it is meant to be shared and multiplied. So many souls are searching but still have not found Christ. Why? It is because they need to see the faith lived. We are called to be living witnesses of faith. Let us pause for a moment think and ask ourselves when was the last time I felt the reign of God so real in my experience? How did it come about that I felt I proclaimed the message of the kingdom? Was it in deeds or in words?