Such is the love and mercy of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ that He will not break the crushed reed, nor put out the smouldering wick! All of us who are crushed by our very own iniquities and sin. Let us therefore repent and turn our hearts back to Him while we still can.
For many even ‘Christians’ fall into sin and plot evil and injustices on those they have the power to do so. Forcing staff to leave so they can bring in people close and dear to them, under the guise of office transformation or new direction. Scheming and bickering over inheritance issues. Paying workers below the minimum wage. Injustices against the poor and uneducated. There are indeed too many misdeeds against our neighbours to list and yet the heaven cries out on their behalf!
Change must start with you and me. Let us call upon the mercy of Lord and allow the blazing fire of His love to transform us. So that we may become powerful beacons of His love and mercy for others. Amen
First reading
Micah 2:1-5 ·
The plotters of evil will not escape
Woe to those who plot evil,
who lie in bed planning mischief!
No sooner is it dawn than they do it
– their hands have the strength for it.
Seizing the fields that they covet,
they take over houses as well,
owner and house they confiscate together,
taking both man and inheritance.
So the Lord says this:
Now it is I who plot
such mischief against this breed
as your necks will not escape;
nor will you be able to walk proudly,
so evil will the time be.
On that day they will make a satire on you,
sing a dirge and say,
‘We are stripped of everything;
my people’s portion is measured out and shared,
no one will give it back to them,
our fields are awarded to our despoiler.’
Therefore you will have no one
to measure out a share
in the community of the Lord.
Gospel
Matthew 12:14-21
He cured them all but warned them not to make him known
The Pharisees went out and began to plot against Jesus, discussing how to destroy him.
Jesus knew this and withdrew from the district. Many followed him and he cured them all, but warned them not to make him known. This was to fulfil the prophecy of Isaiah:
Here is my servant whom I have chosen,
my beloved, the favourite of my soul.
I will endow him with my spirit,
and he will proclaim the true faith to the nations.
He will not brawl or shout,
nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets.
He will not break the crushed reed,
nor put out the smouldering wick
till he has led the truth to victory:
in his name the nations will put their hope.
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