Mt 10,1-7 – Wednesday of the XIV Week of Ordinary Time
“He gave them the power to drive out impure spirits and to heal all kinds of diseases and infirmities.” It is significant that the only power that Jesus gives to his disciples is the power to oppose evil in all its forms. It does not give them the power to dominate, to impose themselves or to occupy important positions. It gives them the power to release and heal. This is the true criterion by which we should recognize an authentic Christian life.
A Christian is not simply someone who attends church or holds religious beliefs. He is someone who, where he encounters evil, he tries to counteract it. Where there is suffering it brings consolation. Where there is solitude it builds relationships. Where there is injustice, he takes a stand. Where someone is injured try to take care of them. Christianity does not compromise with evil, but does not fight it using its own weapons. The strength of the Gospel is a gentle strength. He does not destroy the enemy, but tries to free him from the evil that holds him prisoner. He doesn’t humiliate those who make mistakes, but tries to lift them up. It does not add violence to violence, but interrupts the chain of evil through the logic of love.
Immediately afterwards, the Gospel gives us the names of the Twelve. This detail is not secondary. Jesus does not call an anonymous crowd. He calls concrete people, each with their own name, their own history, their own character and even their own contradictions. The Gospel does not love indistinct masses, but faces and proper names. This is why we are not truly Christians when we feel reassured by the numbers, the success or the strength of any ecclesial experience. We are Christians when we realize that Christ is calling each of us personally.
Wednesday 8 July 2026 – (Wednesday of the 14th Week in Ordinary Time – Even Year)
