A reading from the prophet Isaiah (30:19-21,23-26)
People of Zion dwelling in Jerusalem,
you shall weep no more.
He will be merciful to you when you cry for help;
when he hears it, he will answer you.
Though the Lord has given you
the bread of suffering and the water of distress,
he who is your teacher will no longer remain hidden
and your eyes will see your teacher.
Whether you turn to the right or left
your ears will hear these words behind you,
‘This is the way, keep to it.’
He will send rain for the seed you sow in the ground,
and the bread that the ground provides
will be rich and abundant.
On that day, your cattle will graze in wide pastures.
Oxen and donkeys that work the land
will eat wild sorrel for fodder,
winnowed by the shovel and pitchfork.
On every lofty mountain,
on every high hill, there will be streams flowing with water
on the day of the great slaughter when the strongholds fall.
Then moonlight will be bright as sunlight
and sunlight itself be seven times brighter –
like the light of seven days in one –
on the day the Lord dresses the wound of his people
and heals the scars of the blows they have received.
Multiple transformations are announced in this reading. Transformation from weeping to rejoicing, from suffering and distress to a vision of the true ‘teacher’, who reassures the people with the words: ‘This is the way.’ Transformation in nature too with regular rain for the ground, so that the fields are productive, rich bread is plentiful, and good fodder available for animals. The reference to ‘streams flowing with water’ is coupled with mention of ‘the great slaughter when the strongholds fall’, for this people, who have known the violence of oppression and war, will see the mighty cast down. The next image is even more majestic as moonlight is ‘bright as sunlight’ and the sun shines ‘seven times brighter’. The Lord, the healer of bodies and hearts, is evoked once more in the final verse of this extraordinary litany of God’s works of goodness for the people.
Psalm 147 (146) praises with exuberance the same Lord who ‘heals the broken-hearted’ and ‘binds up their wounds’, the same Lord who calls the stars by name.
A reading from the holy gospel according to Matthew (9:35-10:1,6-8))
Jesus made a tour through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing all kinds of disease and all kinds of illness. And when he saw the crowds he felt sorry for them because they were harassed and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is rich but the labourers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers to his harvest.’
He summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, with power to drive them out and to cure every disease and every illness: ‘Go to the lost sheep of the House of Israel. And as you go, proclaim that the kingdom of Heaven is close at hand. Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, drive out demons. You received without charge, give without charge.’
The gifts of God in the Isaiah reading are brought by Jesus too: he brings true teaching in their synagogues, he proclaims the good news, and he heals. Like the God of Isaiah, who ‘dresses the wound of the people’, and the God invoked by the psalmist, who ‘heals the broken-hearted’, Jesus shows compassion for the ‘lost sheep of the house of Israel’. Furthermore, he enlists the help of the Twelve both in proclaiming the Kingdom and in healing. The free gifts they have received are to be given away freely, and in the first place, before the gentile mission, to the people of Israel. The Risen Jesus will send forth his disciples ‘to all nations’ (Matthew 28).
Why does Jesus send the Twelve to the House of Israel?
Pray for true compassion for Jew and Gentile alike.