Matthew 10:24-33

Isaiah 6:1-8

Psalm 93:1ab, 1cd-2, 5

Matthew 10:24-33

Jesus said to his Apostles:

“No disciple is above his teacher,

no slave above his master.

It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher,

for the slave that he become like his master.

If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul,

how much more those of his household!

“Therefore do not be afraid of them.

Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed,

nor secret that will not be known.

What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light;

what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops.

And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul;

rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy

both soul and body in Gehenna.

Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin?

Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s knowledge.

Even all the hairs of your head are counted.

So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

Everyone who acknowledges me before others

I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father.

But whoever denies me before others,

I will deny before my heavenly Father.”

Opening Prayer: Lord God, what an awesome task you have entrusted me with! I am called to bring your Word to my family, friends, coworkers, and community. I know my limitations and yet I trust in you and your grace. Empowered by your Spirit, I will be fearless as I proclaim your Word.

Encountering the Word of God

1. The Mission of Isaiah to Judah: Elijah, Elisha, Amos, and Hosea were all prophets in the Northern Kingdom of Israel. They sought to turn Israel away from idolatrous worship and back to God. Some twenty years before the fall of Israel (722 B.C.), the Prophet Isaiah was called by God to prophesy to the Southern Kingdom of Judah. Today’s First Reading tells us about this extraordinary event and calling which occurred in the year that King Uzziah died (742/740 B.C.). We are told that Isaiah had a vision of the Lord God enthroned as a king, yet whose greatness cannot be contained. Before the throne, Seraphim praised God as the most holy, as the commander of armies, and affirmed that God’s glory fills the whole earth. Isaiah’s experience of God's holiness seems to take place in the Temple, during an offering of a sacrifice on the altar. “The holiness of God simultaneously reveals the uncleanness of Isaiah, who fears for his life. But his uncleanness is purified when a seraph burns away his sin and guilt by touching his lips with a burning coal taken from the altar. There is a connection between Isaiah’s lips and his mission to speak: in order for Isaiah to speak the words of the holy God, his lips must be pure” (Leclerc, Introduction to the Prophets, 167).

2. Purification and Empowerment: The smoke Isaiah saw was no longer the smoke from the sacrificial offering, but rather the cloud of God’s presence. The voices he heard were no longer those of the earthly choir, but those of the angelic choir. Isaiah was empowered by his purification and responded enthusiastically to God’s question: “Whom shall I send?” Isaiah responds: “Here I am! Send me!” Just as Isaiah needed to be purified and empowered to preach God’s words, so also Jesus’ disciples needed to be purified and empowered by the Spirit to proclaim the Gospel. At the Last Supper, the Apostles are sanctified by the truth of God’s word. Jesus prays that evening that the Father draw the Apostles toward him and into his holiness. The Apostles were drawn deep within God by being immersed in the Word of God. “The word of God is, so to speak, the bath which purifies them, the creative power which transforms them into God’s own being” (Benedict XVI, April 9, 2009).

3. Fearlessness: Jesus tells the Apostles not to fear those who can kill the body. Jesus is the master who will himself be killed. His disciples will follow their master and will share in Jesus’ suffering and death. The proclamation of the Gospel by the Apostles will lead to their martyrdom. In this way, the Apostles bear witness to the truth. We learn, today, that despite our weakness, failings, and sin, God sends us out into the world to proclaim the Gospel. If we allow God into our lives, he will purify us, strengthen us, and guide us. The message we preach, the saving doctrine we teach, is not our own. Rather, we have received it at the foot of the altar, at the feet of Jesus himself. Like Isaiah and the Apostles, we are fragile vessels that bear a great treasure, a pearl of great price: the Word of God and the Charity of God.

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, you can do all things. I hear your voice and the gentleness of your call. Grant me your grace and pour out your Spirit so that I may respond to you with generosity. Help me as I discern your will today.

Living the Word of God: When I am in prayer, do I hear the voice of God? Am I listening to myself? Or the world? Or the temptations of the evil one? Do I know how to discern what comes from God? What criteria do I use in this discernment?