Jesus cures a number of people: Matthew 9:18-38
Imaginative Contemplation
Enter into the scene
Jesus was certainly a hands-on person. He was not afraid to physically touch people to make them well again. This happened with the lady who had a haemorrhage, the Jewish official’s dead daughter, the two blind men whose eyes Jesus touched, and the dumb man. Through his touch and undivided attention to each of these people, Jesus cured each one. All these miracles seemed to take place on the same day, yet they were not all in the same place. What a busy day this must have been! Travelling from house to house, treading the road and preaching, Jesus was still able to give full attention to those who needed his healing touch. As so often happened, he was followed by some of the scribes and Pharisees who could not accept that his miraculous power came from God. Such a day of preaching, traveling, healing and being publicly criticised must have been physically exhausting. Each person had his full attention. No wonder that at the end of this day, Jesus said to his followers ‘The harvest is great, but the labourers are few. Pray to the Father that he might send labourers into the harvest, to be there to support the ordinary people who need our love and direction.’
For further reflection
Discuss with Jesus the following points:
· Jesus worked at the moment, giving full attention to the matter in hand.am I able to live in the present moment, leaving the past behind and not worrying about the future?
· When I am listening to someone, do I give them my full attention?
· In my prayer, do I try to let go of distractions?
· Do I pray for more people to dedicate their lives to God as priests, ministers and religious?
· Am I called to help others in some small way? What would that be?
Prayer
Lord, help me to live in the present moment, giving my full attention to what I am doing and the people with whom I am conversing. Help me to value the small things in my day. Amen.