Tuesday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time
August 9, 2022
Daily Reading from the USCCB: Matthew 18:1-5, 10, 12-14
Jesus speaks of what “greatness” really means. It is exactly the opposite of what our modern world proclaims. Wealth, power and fame are its goals, and yet not a single one of them has any truly lasting quality.
Jesus places a child before his apostles to teach that greatness is like the simplicity of a child who has no status in society–who is able to believe and trust in God’s goodness. Then he reminds us that we are God’s sheep and that God himself is the one who cares for us as a shepherd does his sheep.
Jesus is the Father’s perfect image of a shepherd who actually laid down his life for his sheep–every one of them whether strong or weak, good or bad. A person’s true value rests not on any external thing, but on his or her realizing that God made all of us in his image and likeness. And in that way, each child of God is loved with God’s infinite love.
