Saturday of the 18th week in ordinary time year A
Deut. 6:4-13 Mat. 17: 14-20
Theme: A guide for Gods people
In the 1st reading of today from the Book of Deuteronomy, Moses presents to the people of Israel a guide that will help them to be good people and continue to humble themselves before God and appreciate what he has done for them since he brought them out of Egypt. By extension this message is meant for all of us as children of God. It has not lost its relevance and is still very important to us today in our world. Moses reminds the people about the supremacy of God and the need for them to love God with all they had.
He is simply telling them that God should come first in everything they do in their life, and they should love him above everything else. This reminder is very important in our own time because some of us easily forget where we started from, especially when things become good for us. This is reiterated by Moses towards the end of the 1st reading of today, when he tells them that when they get to the promised land and begin to enjoy the promises of God, they should continue to place God first in everything they do in their lives.
There is a lot of wisdom in the admonition of Moses in the 1st reading. When we remember where we are coming from, it should help us to appreciate what God has done for us to bring us to where we are now. Especially a person with a humble beginning like the Israelites and eventually finds himself or herself in a position of wealth and affluence. This consciousness should remove any form of pride and arrogance from our lives and make us humble, knowing fully well that it has been God all the way. There is no doubt that your hard work is necessary, but it is Gods grace that grants you your desired success at the end.
In the gospel reading of today, Jesus points out the fact that we all need faith in our lives. His Apostles could not heal the epileptic because of their lack of faith, and Jesus is saying to all of us today that when we have faith in God, we will give a command and it will happen. In view of this, it is quite clear that faith in God is a necessity in our lives as followers of Christ. Our prayer today is that God will increase our faith, in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit. Amen. Peace be with you.