GOSPEL POWER | JULY 17, 2021 | SATURDAY |  15th Week in Ordinary Time

 Gospel: Mt 12: 14 – 21

The Pharisees went out and conspired against Jesus, how to destroy him. When Jesus became aware of this, he departed. Many crowds followed him, and he cured all of them, and he ordered them not to make him known. This was to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah: “Here is my servant, whom I have chosen, my beloved, with whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles.   He will not wrangle or cry aloud, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets. He will not break a bruised reed or quench a smoldering wick until he brings justice to victory. And in his name the Gentiles will hope.”

Reflection

Due to another Sabbath confrontation — Jesus curing  of a man with withered hand (cf. Mt 12:9-13) — the  Pharisees’ hostility toward him turns into a murderous plot.  Jesus withdraws from the place of danger, not out of fear for his safety  but, as in John’s Gospel, he is aware that his “hour” has not yet come.  Matthew’s quotation here of the Suffering Servant song (cf. Is 42:1-4)  means to tell us more than his conviction that Jesus is the prophesied  Servant. The double mention of Gentiles in the song (verses 18 and  21) enables him to show that the mission of Jesus is not only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (cf. Mt 15:24) but encompasses all.  Though Matthew does not say where Jesus withdraws to avoid the  Pharisees’ plot, his quotation from Isaiah suggests that Jesus begins  his ministry to the Gentiles. The rejection Jesus experiences from his  own people serves God’s original purpose of universalizing the scope  of salvation.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, may your experience be an assurance to us that when one  door closes, God will open other doors. Amen