Daily Gospel Reflection for June 30, 2022

Join us as we reflect, ponder, and pray together inspired by today's Gospel.

Today's Gospel: Matthew 9:1-8

There’s a funny thing we humans do, seeking proof of things through our senses. If someone takes out a gallon of milk from the fridge and declares it’s sour, our first impulse is to smell it for ourselves. Someone declares the puppy is “so sof,t” and we quickly move in for a snuggle. Hearing a declaration of something beautiful or grisly, we need to view it with our own eyes. We are concrete beings, always searching for understanding of the unknown through the five senses God has blessed us with.

It’s hard to fault the friends of the paralytic or the scribes in today’s Gospel when they questioned the healing Jesus chose to bestow on him. His friends brought him before Jesus with faith that He could heal his paralysis and help him walk again. When Jesus first heals him of his sins, everyone stands confused, unimpressed and some even angry. There is no concrete proof that Jesus has done what He has claimed. How does one see, feel, hear the healing of sins? Where is the proof we can touch?

As is the case many other times throughout His time on this earth, Jesus has to earn the trust of those around Him through a miracle that can be visualized. It points to the disconnect between our souls and our physical bodies. Jesus is gently showing us that the state of our souls is monumentally more important than the bodies we can see and touch. It is a challenging, yet compassionate, lesson on the beauty within and the need to care for the part of us no earthly being can reach like our Father can.

Ponder:

Take some time to compare the care you give your physical self to the care you give your soul. Are you quick to jump on the treadmill everyday but slow to take the time to pray?

Pray:

We thank You, Lord, for these gentle lessons that show us how, being made in Your image demands a level of respect and care for our souls that will one day greet You in Heaven. As we move throughout our day, keep us focused on opportunities to care for our soul.

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Jesus is gently showing us that the state of our souls is monumentally more important than the bodies we can see and touch. #dailygospel

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