Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel

Hosea 8:4-7.11-13, Mt. 9:32-38. Human beings have different ways of relating to God in many ways throughout history. In the contemporary time, there are many spiritual ways of being and living with God or turning away from Him. Many of these spiritual paths converge at the bottom of the mystery: many others are lost in tangled forests; some, the darkest, lead to walls or cliffs. However, there is something that all these paths share: those of us who walk them always have the danger of not fully understanding who we are walking towards and, above all, who is the one who comes to meet us. Determined to be right when choosing the path to God and walk it, sometimes we misrepresent the path of God. Today's readings put into crisis those who walk with self-sufficiency in spiritual life, thinking that they can sustain it only by themselves. The Pharisees who finds fault in Jesus were so self-sufficient that they saw nothing good in Him.

There is a sharp contrast between the ordinary people’s response to Jesus healing ministry and how His rivals respond to it. The people were amazed and said: "Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel." The Pharisees said: "It is through the prince of devils that He casts out devils." They saw Jesus perform the same deeds, and, yet, interpreted what they saw in different ways. One group saw the presence of God and the other group saw the presence of evil. One group was open to the truth of who Jesus really is; the other group were blinded by their prejudice. Jesus saw the goodness in people just as the people saw the presence of God in Jesus. The Gospel calls on us to be alert to the signs of goodness in others, to the signs of God’s presence all around us, especially in those who cross our path in life. We need the generous vision of the people and especially of Jesus, rather than the jaundiced vision of the Pharisees, if we are to see the many ways that the Lord is present and active among us.

May the Lord deepen His love in our hearts so that we see the good in others! Amen!! Keep safe, Peace be with you!!!