Faith

Friday, 10th week in ordinary time – 10th July 2026 – Matthew 10:16-23

Major religious movements rarely start with a grand blueprint for an institution. Instead, they begin as lived experiences within an existing culture. The early Church experienced a slow, often painful birth, transitioning from an internal Jewish debate to a global religious identity.

St Matthew wrote this Gospel during a period of great hostility between the Jews and the Christians. The Christians had not yet formed a clear identity as a body of people, as we have today. At best, the early Christians were a sect of Judaism that believed that the Messiah was Jesus who had died and had risen. The early Christians still prayed at the synagogues, their prayers were still the prayers that their Jewish brothers and sisters recited, their habits and cultural mannerism were still predominantly Jewish.

But all that changed with the council of Jamnia or Jabneh. After the fall of Jerusalem, (A.D.70) the “Council of Jabneh” was convened. It consisted of a group of Jewish scholars who were granted permission by Rome around the year 90 to meet in Palestine near the Mediterranean Sea in Jabneh (or Jamnia). Here they established a non-authoritative, “reconstituted” Sanhedrin.

These scholars shifted the focal point of Jewish identity from space (the Temple) to text (the Torah). Facing existential erasure, they realized that a community anchored in a shared scriptural canon could survive anywhere in the world, even without a homeland. When the Romans destroyed the Temple of stone, the sages at Jabneh built a temple of text. Jabneh proved that a community anchored in a scripture can survive without a homeland. Among the things they discussed was the status of several questionable writings in the Jewish Bible. They also rejected the Christian writings and made a new translation of the Greek Septuagint.

While scholars’ debate on what happened next, many have accepted that the council of Jabneh decided to expel those who did not adhere to their value system. Such a procedure is described in the Birkat ha-Minim, a ‘Blessing on the heretics’ (actually a curse) and among those cursed were the Jewish apostates whom we would call ‘the early Christians’. This sparked tension between Judaism and Christianity and built up even more in the medieval ages.

When St Matthew was writing the mission discourse, this tension was a lived experience. Today, every Christians would read this text in their own context that they live in. In India, these persecutions are real and fraught with dire threats and bodily harm. The hostile trial rooms of the first century have simply relocated to the police stations of the twenty-first. Anti-conversion laws have turned the act of tending to one’s flock into a criminal conspiracy. It is not uncommon to have right wing groups, attack with impunity, Christian evangelist and Christian institutions; taking the law into their own hands while the law itself looks the other way. The tragedy is not just the vigilante violence, but the official silence that validates it.

So often, those who are charged with enforcing the law, are complicit in harbouring the attackers while filing false charges against Christian evangelists who are just tending to their own flock and institutions. In the hands of the powerful, the law is no longer a shield for the weak, but a sword against the faithful. Matthew’s Mission Discourse is no longer a historical text; in India, it is a daily survival guide.

Social media is abuzz with videos recorded by right wing groups insulting St Teresa, calling for a Hindu nation and blatantly suggesting violence against Christians and other minorities. The very media channels that would scream blue murder at the top of their lungs on prime-time TV are silent to such hate. Yet, should anyone with a surname that sounds remotely from a minority faith dare to even critique the functioning of government, the same media channels would call you anti-national and within hours you would be in some prison on trumped up charges.

 Jesus does not hide the danger that his disciples will face. He does not sugar coat the path ahead. The Gospel does not hide the wolves; it prepares the sheep. “Beware”, he says, “of them.” That “them,” has become for “us” in India, any one from the highest offices in the political class to one who thinks that they are doing a holy task for their faith by attacking a Christian. In India, the threat is systemic: it is voted into high office and executed on local streets.

The description of the persecution that is found in this text, seems like it is happening in real time, here in India. “You will be dragged before governors and kings before me,” said Jesus. While fear will be natural in such a circumstance, the defence of the righteous is the work of the Holy Spirit. The words of our defence will be given, for God will speak through us. But that does not mean that the doors of the prison will be opened by an angel and we will be released, like it did for St Peter. Our lives could end up like St Stephen who was stoned to death. God promises us the words for our defense, not an escape from our cross.

Perhaps the saddest pain that comes from such persecution is not the physical attacks but the pain that comes from those with whom we once lived and loved; our neighbours, colleagues or students who studied and lived in our Christian institutions. The heaviest stones are not thrown by strangers, but by those who once shared our bread. The words of Jesus ring true two thousand years later “brother against brother, father against child, children against parents.” It has not been uncommon for us today in India, to hear and perhaps experience, first hand, our very “brothers and sisters” with whom we took oaths in school, now turn against the very priests and nuns at whose hand they were educated.

The shrill voices on social media accusing Christians as having a single agenda of conversion is fanned with impunity. The loudest lies on social media are treated as gospel, while the true Gospel is treated as a crime. Social Media giants are never asked to take these posts and videos down nor are these pages and sites every banned by government. Tragically, the lies have been told again and again giving rise to fear and falsehood and the victimization of religious minorities. When the state refuses to ban the hate, it implicitly signs the warrant for the attack.

Today, we in India are hated as citizens because we hold Jesus as our Lord and Saviour. Unfortunately, even now, some members of the hierarchy of the Catholic Church refuse to admit the reality of this persecution that is faced on a daily basis. The superscription of the text of today’s Gospel in the RSV Bible reads, “the coming persecution.” For us in India, it is not a matter of coming persecution but a matter of ongoing persecution.

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Thursday, 14th week in ordinary time – 9th July 2026 – Matthew 10:7-15

The apostles, having been chosen, are sent on mission. The first part of the mission discourse focuses on the call or commissioning to mission. Interestingly the apostles are ‘sent’ to preach the good news but what they will experience and have to accept, is that the good news comes with a lot of bad news. Jesus is emphatic; the call to mission has no rose garden along with the sunshine. Jesus did not promise His messengers a safe passage, only a guaranteed destination.

The mandate of the apostles comes from the authority of Jesus himself. What strikes us right away is that the mission begins with the task of proclamation.  Verse 7 establishes that preaching the Kingdom is the primary necessity, not an optional afterthought. It is later in verse eight they are also told of the mighty works that they were to perform. Preaching tells the world that God is speaking; healing proves that God is actually present.

Proclamation is key to ministry. Sadly, a poster that announces a well know ‘healer’ will draw crowds that are packed to the rafters; a Bible class may only have a few souls in attendance. The principal task of the apostles and the Church is to proclaim the Good News.

Jesus also shares great power with these mostly unlettered simple twelve. He gave them authority over unclean spirits and to cast then out (10:1) to cure the sick, to raise the dead, cleanse the leper and cast out demons. The greatest wonder in Galilee was not that a leper was cleansed, but that fishermen were trusted with the authority of the Almighty.

Imagine the excitement in a little village when the apostles raised someone from the dead.  All of a sudden, these twelve ordinary men would be viewed with great awe, reverence and honour. Imagine Galilee abuzz; a child raised from the dead by Peter, a leper healed by John, a sick woman cured by Bartholomew and Judas Iscariot casting out a demon.

Did that last name make you sit up wondering if you heard right? Did Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed Our Lord, really cast a demon out? Well, the Bible does not say that explicitly but it does say that ALL the twelve apostles were given these powers equally so we can’t rule out that Judas Iscariot did not cast a demon or even raise some one from the dead. Yet, a man to whom great authority was given by Our Lord could also end up being his betrayer. We too, like Judas could cast out a demon from another person’s body while keeping our own heart chained to darkness. St Augustine cautions us all when he wrote, “there go I but for the love of God.”

The text also tells us that Jesus gives his apostles several instructions. When read together, the instructions have a single purpose; any minister who is called to service cannot be encumbered by baggage. Extra provisions do not facilitate the mission; they slow it down by shifting the missionary’s focus from the Provider to the provisions.

The call to mission must be marked with a sense of faith in the providence of God. While money, provisions and several sets of clothing would make the journey comfortable they would also be the cause of distraction and delay. The one sent out must mark his journey with unwavering trust in God.

Finally, having arrived at the place of mission, the apostle is called to do due diligence with the residence he adopts. The power given to the apostles could be misused by those who wish to align themselves with the apostles; not for the sake of the Gospel but for personal gain. It is something that could happen today too.  It is for this reason that Jesus says, “Whatever town of village you enter find out who in it is worthy”.

Interestingly Jesus stayed and visited several homes during his ministry. This also included the homes of tax collectors and sinners, the home of Simon the Pharisee, the home of Martha and Mary and even the home of Zacchaeus the chief tax collector. When we use the word ‘worthy’ we get a sense that the house chosen to live in should be one of good standing. That may not exactly be mind of Jesus. For Jesus, a “worthy” home is not one of flawless social standing, but one with an open door and a repentant heart. A house becomes worthy the moment it welcomes the Word, not because it boasts the finest linens in the village.

At the same time Jesus forbids His apostles from hospitality-shopping because a minister looking for the best room has already forgotten the lost soul. Jesus wants the apostles to acknowledge the kindness and the hospitality that they have received.

Jesus suggests that a gift could be given to express their thanks. This gift is not some fancy car or a better job for the son of the family but rather he suggests a spiritual gift be given. Jesus said, “If the house is worthy let your peace come upon it.” Earthly wealth changes a family’s comfort, but divine peace changes their composure in the face of crisis.

 Interestingly the gift of peace is not the gift of a conflict free home, rather the gift of peace is the gift that helps the members of the family face every storm that breaks upon it and face it with the grace and faith.

It would be interesting if the apostles came to our neighbourhood today. They would have to ask around as to who in the community was ‘worthy’ of lodging with. We would need to ask ourselves if we would be considered worthy of such an honour. Would I lay a plate at table, knowing that Peter would definitely sup at my house?

Not all accept the Good News. To those who reject the Good News as preached by the apostles, Our Lord suggests a sign of rejection as a warning of what is to come to them. Such will be their rejection that not even the dust from that town should cling to the sandals of the apostles. Sodom and Gomorrah would have it easier on judgment day than those who spurn the Good News of Jesus.

We have got used to embracing the idea of Jesus who is sweet and mild. This is the myth of the mild Savior. A Jesus who never loses His temper is an idol of our own making, not the Messiah of the Gospels. We have domesticated the Lion of Judah into a pet, forgetting that holy love carries a holy fury.  Christ’s mildness is an invitation to repentance, not a license for our complacency.

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New Wine, Old Whines – Saturday, 13th week in ordinary time – 4th July 2026 – Matthew 9:14-17

Today, we are in the second teaching on discipleship. Jesus has called Matthew and now he and his friends are feasting with Jesus much to the disapproval of the Pharisees. But these attacks must not be seen in isolation. Chapter nine sees three sets of people attacking Jesus. It begins with the scribes in verse three, then the Pharisees in verse eleven and now in our text of today we have the disciples of John the Baptist himself.

The last group comes across as a shocker! Why would the disciples of Jesus’ cousin themselves criticize Jesus? Let us hypothetically, but rather safely put it down to sour grapes and a dwindling congregation. While we have sufficient evidence to show that the Baptists (followers of John) were certainly popular during Jesus’ lifetime, the fact that Jesus was drawing crowds could only mean that he was drawing crowds from their following.

They now join the Pharisees in taking on Jesus. Note the line of questioning, ‘why do your disciples not fast but we, the Pharisees and the disciples of John, fast?’ There are two things to observe here. First, they are not directly accusing Jesus but pointing fingers at his disciples. In short, they are subtly stating that the disciples are ‘bad’ because the master is bad. Guilt by association is the oldest trick in the critic’s playbook. Targeting the flock is a cowardly way to attack the Shepherd.

Secondly, this is a case of ‘spiritual one up-manship’. In making this statement, they are effectively telling Jesus, ‘We are spiritually better than you.’ The disciples of John clung so tightly to the voice in the wilderness that they missed the Word in the room. 

What really is the purpose of fasting? Jesus never explicitly gave specific instructions on fasting or on the days one ought to fast. He did though give a teaching on how we ought NOT to fast. In Matthew 5:16 he did tell us that fasting is not a matter of IF you fast but a matter of ‘whenever’ you fast. The ‘whenever’ may knock off the feeling of an obligation but that is not the case.

Jesus is taking to a Jewish audience and for them fasting was part of their religious DNA. He does however, correct the intention of their fasts; gloomy looks on days of fasting does not please God, especially if the fasting is done to win men’s favour. When it came to fasting, Jesus did not command the calendar, rather he addressed the heart. True spiritual disciplines are driven by hunger for God, not a duty to a date.

Yet the impression that one would get from today’s text would seem to indicated that fasting was a necessary and integral requirement of the Jewish law. While today, pious Jews are mandated to fast six times a year; the only fast that was stipulated in the Old Testament was the Day of Atonement. The fasting, practiced by the Jews at the time of Jesus, was merely a traditional religious practice. The Pharisees however observed additional fasts on the second and fifth day of the week and imposed the same on everyone else.

But the apparent public rap on the knuckles for Jesus was clearly an attempt to name and shame Our Lord in order to get him to fall in line with main stream religious leadership. The goal of religious peer pressure is never transformation; it is always subjugation. It is for this reason that Jesus is forced to take them on in response to their hostility.  

Jesus responds with not one but two examples to answer their claims. These are found in verses, fifteen to seventeen. Here is the point that Jesus was making. Jesus has come to bring the Good News of the Kingdom of God. This ‘GOOD NEWS’ was also ‘NEW NEWS’ and all things new are resisted at first.

The religious establishment wanted a rehearsal of the past, but Jesus brought a revolution for the future. Jesus understands their reluctance to accept his new message but insists that this new message needs a new and open mind just as new wine needs new wineskins. People will fiercely defend a dying system just to avoid a dynamic shift.

Is Jesus thus dismissing the Old Law and traditions? Absolutely not! Time and time again, and we read this in Chapter 5: 1, he has said he has not come to abolish the law and the prophets but to fulfil it. One of his examples in verse 16 helps us to understand his message better. Jesus says, “no one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old cloak, for the patch pulls away from the cloak and a worse tear is made.

The Greek word for patch is pleroma also translated as fullness and the Greek word for tear is schima from where you get the word schism. What Jesus is saying is that his message (the patch) is the fullness. The old coat is good but to take that and stitch a patch (new message of Jesus) would cause a tear when the patch ‘pulls away’, causing a tear (schism) between the Jews and the Jewish Christians.

In verse seventeen he reverses the order. No one puts new wine (his teachings) into old wineskins (the Jewish Law and Prophets). His new message cannot be force fit into the traditional ways of thinking. But lest you being to think that Jesus is dismissing one for the other look carefully, he is not. He is holding and preserving both while calling for a new way of thinking a new and personal approach to God.

The point of the illustrations, is to bring about a change in the approach to faith and religion in the minds of the religious establishment. This was not some novelty that Jesus was introducing for the sake of attracting people to his ministry. Our Lord was not hunting for headlines; He was correcting the heart.  This was good practical advice to his peers who were misguided by their own religious thinking and expressions of piety. His examples were common sense insights taken from daily life.

One should not assume that Jesus is merely some itinerant preacher running around trying to subvert traditional practices by introducing something completely new. He is here to align the real practice of the faith with what God wants for His people. Faith is not about maintaining a system; it is about maturing a people. These human religious traditions often have little to do with God and much to do with pandering to human need. Man-made traditions often serve human egos while starving the divine purpose.

Jesus’ teachings are new and bold and aligned with the will of God. They are not some patchworks of thought to be attached to the traditional practices of the Jewish establishment. They demand a newness of both wine and wineskins. As the teachings are ‘new,’ the receivers of this good news must also put on a ‘new mind’. The old boundaries cannot contain the new reality of God’s reign coming near in Jesus.

Reflecting on this, we need to find a balance in the way the Church grows. There is much in the rich tradition of the Catholic liturgy that is beautiful and very meaningful. Change for the sake of novelty is a danger. Yet to simply cling on to celebrating a mass at right angles can be the reason that hinders people from connecting to this community celebration. The beauty of the liturgy is meant to mirror heaven, not isolate earth. Virtue lies in the middle.

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Solemnity of St Thomas – Apostle of India – 3rd July, 2026 – John 20:24-29

The text of today takes us to the first Easter Sunday. The Lord had risen and no sooner that he stepped out of the tomb, Jesus chose to appear to the apostles. John 20 tells us the narrative of that first encounter. It was on the evening of that first Easter Sunday that Jesus appeared to the apostles. He showed them his hands and side. The apostles were not only terrified of the Jews but now mortified that this could be a ghost that their eyes beheld.  

At the height of their fear, Jesus gives them the gift of peace and then breaths the Holy Spirit on them. He gave them the power to forgive or retains sins. He had given this power earlier only to Peter, now he gives it to them all. Then, scripture tells us, that Thomas was not there!

I don’t want to make St Thomas our favourite whipping boy for what happened next. Too long, we have thrown St Thomas in the dock with a label that says, ‘doubting Thomas!’  If Peter had his confession, “you are the Christ the son of the living God”, then Thomas had his too, when he said, “My Lord and my God.” If Peter is the Rock, Thomas is the Mirror; reflecting the honest questions we are all too afraid to ask. Peter denied Jesus with his words, but Thomas sought Jesus with his questions. Both were met with grace. Unfortunately, we never hear the confession of Thomas spoken with the same adulation as Peter.

Thomas has been maligned unfairly for centuries from the pulpit for what seems to be a moment’s weakness of unbelief.  He has forever been tarnished with the name ‘doubting Thomas’ when in reality he is like you and me, a ‘seeking Thomas’; seeking answers all his life with a thousand questions. He is the patron saint of the inquisitive; forever our ‘Seeking Thomas.’

St Thomas has patiently borne centuries of name calling for ONE single lapse of faith. That is a punishment too harsh to bear. If we are to be fair to Thomas, let’s look at the rap sheet of some of the other apostles. Peter denied the Lord, three times but we don’t call him denier. Nathaniel scoffed when he said, “What good can come from Nazareth’’ but we don’t call him a scoffer. James and John were fighting for the right to sit at the Lord’s left and right seats but we don’t call them opportunist.  The rest abandoned the Lord at Gethsemane but we don’t call them cowards.  Poor Thomas, he got the worst end of the Christian preacher’s stick, and a name, ‘doubting Thomas’ which has stuck to him like feathers to tar.

There was another ‘mistake’ he made that day, one that seems to be overlooked. It is true he would not believe; it is true that he wanted proof. What is also true is that while the others accepted the resurrection on Easter Sunday, Thomas chose to wait another full week to celebrate Easter. It was a week later that the Lord appeared to Thomas, it was a week later that Thomas relaised his foolishness; it was a delayed Easter for Thomas because he chose not to believe. The true cost of his doubt was not just a label, but a week of unnecessary isolation and grief while others were already rejoicing. While the upper room echoed with resurrection joy, Thomas spent seven days trapped in Good Friday. Here is a lesson for us; doubting does not change the resurrection; it only delays our invitation to the party.

We all have our moments if not several episodes of ‘unbelief’ or ‘apistos’, in Greek. The English word ‘to doubt,’ is a poor translation of the word ‘apistos’.  The Bible uses the word unbelief and not doubt. To doubt, in the Greek language is translated as ‘distazo’. In John’s Gospel, believing or apistos is more a statement of ‘abiding in Jesus’, a relationship shared with Him, not merely a belief in a doctrine. Distazo means you can’t decide; Apistos means you feel disconnected. Thomas wasn’t indecisive, he was heartbroken.

This is why Jesus, in John’s Gospel asks us to ‘abide in Him.’ The English translations, loosely translated, should really read, ‘do not be ‘unbelieving’ but believe in the relationship we have which did not die on the cross’. Thomas wasn’t wavering in his thoughts; his personal connection to Jesus had been fractured by the trauma of the cross, and he needed that relationship restored.

This relationship between Jesus and Thomas was repaired the moment Thomas opened his heart to renewing his faith when he said, “My Lord and My God”. These are loaded words. He uses the word MY, indicating a relationship, an expression of abiding. He did not say you are ‘the Lord and the God’.

For Thomas, Jesus is not only his Lord but also his God and the two are cemented by that three-letter word AND.  Thomas is not merely renewing a confession of faith; he is making a confession of relationship.

We all live through our ‘thomistic’ moments of unbelief in our relationship with the Lord. How can Jesus die on me when I need Him the most? Where was He when I was clinging to the last straw of hope? Why did He not send someone to help me carry my cross? The How’s, Where’s and Why’s plague our mind like it did with Thomas. Yet He becomes the model of ‘faith restored’ when He renews his relationship with the one who never abandoned him. We don’t doubt God’s existence; we doubt His location when we are hurting. The reality is that in moments likes these, it is not that we doubt God’s existence; we doubt His location when we are hurting.

The words of Thomas, “My Lord and My God’ are meant to be whispered as words that give us strength in our moments of ‘unbelief’. It is in these words that we can find comfort, knowing that the Apostle of India shared in the same experience of unbelief that we go through. Thomas teaches us that a relationship can survive the questions if we stay in the room.

Thomas can no longer be in the dock. He has been acquitted by the Lord himself, he is not guilty and no pulpit can try him again. His title of “doubting” was but for a single week, but the “Apostle” crown was his for a lifetime of service. It is time we retire the name ‘Doubting Thomas’ and recognize him for what he truly was; a ‘Seeking Thomas’.

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  Thursday, 13th Week in ordinary time – Matthew 9:1-8

The Gospel of Matthew was written in the late first century, a turbulent period following the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE, to help a predominantly Jewish-Christian audience redefine their identity.

Chapter nine of the Gospel of Matthew has the last of the four miracle narratives. The first six were in chapter eight. Chapter nine also has Jesus calling Matthew to be an apostle and this is followed by a teaching on discipleship. It then winds down, giving way to the second of Matthew’s discourse in chapter ten; the mission discourse.

But chapter nine will also see the first sparks of confrontation that Jesus encounters. The opposition does not come from just one group. Jesus faces critics from three distinct sides; from the legalistic scribes (9:3), the ritual focused Pharisees (9:11) and even with the ascetic disciples of his own cousin, John the Baptist (9:14).

The Greek word ‘grammateus,’ translated scribe, means writer. The scribes were the ones who drew up legal documents. They also copied the Old Testament Scripture and devoted themselves to the study of the law, and the determination of its applications on daily life. They also studied the Scripture with respect to doctrinal and historical matters. Noted scribes had their own disciples and many of the scribes were members of the Jewish council.

We are no strangers to the healing power of Jesus. On this occasion, it is the power of petition that prompts Jesus to heal a paralysed man. Perhaps this miracle would have been without incident if Jesus simply took the man’s hand like he did with Peter’s mother-in-law.

St Matthew wants to make a point. Jesus is not just some wonder working miracle man; he is the Son of God whom even satan, who had possessed two men in Gadara, acknowledged as being so. For St Matthew, while Jesus has the ability to heal, he has even more, the authority to take away sins that were seen as the cause of illness. The religious leaders counted sins; Jesus erased them.

Hence Jesus does not at first say, ‘pick up your mat and walk’ but He says, ‘your sins are forgiven’. Jesus mended the man’s soul before He fixed his steps. He is the Son of God and with Him rests the power to forgive sins, but He also has the power to extend this authority – to forgive sins, to the Church.  It is for these reasons that that those who see this miracle are not merely left amazed, as in Mark’s Gospel, but they glorify God who had given such authority to men.

The paralyzed man is brought to Jesus for physical mobility, but Jesus addresses his spiritual state first by saying, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven” (Matt 9:2). His proclamation, “take heart son, your sins are forgiven” causes the scribes to be agitated. The scriptures do not tell us that they objected vociferously. Rather we are told that they had “evil thoughts in their hearts;” for they called him a blasphemer. A critical spirit will make you miss the miracle standing right in front of you.

This was the very charge that they brought against him at his trial (Matthew 26:65). The scribes correctly understood that Jesus claimed to do something that only God can do. But they were incorrect in assuming that Jesus was not God Himself.

Our Lord did not seek disputes. Yet when evil sets in our hearts we become the agents of satan and evil and then we are capable of attacking even our Lord. The evil in our mind pollutes our hearts, pushing us to train our guns against good men and women and turning the forces of evil against them. It is the little things, that we need to guard our heart from.

Finally, the Lord today was prompted to work a miracle looking at the faith of the friends of the paralytic. The paralytic perhaps had no faith at all; at least the Gospel does not seem to mention it explicitly. He was obedient, he took his mat and went home when he was told but as far as faith, we are told nothing. But it is the faith of the friends with which I want to end this reflection. True friends don’t just carry your burdens; they carry you to Jesus.

If there is anything that hits home in this text, it is the power of intercessory prayer. I have bemoaned the way the ‘prayers of the faithful’ are written and even more, prayed at Sunday mass. On one or two occasions in my parish, I have urged members in the congregation to come forward and make a spontaneous prayer. The silence that follows would make any school teacher ecstatic; but it is heart breaking for the minister.

 It is a moment when he realises how poor our faith is and how limited are our expressions. The church should be a house of prayer, not a monument of silence. We have mastered reading prayers, but we have forgotten how to cry out. We don’t need eloquent speakers in the pews; we need desperate advocates for the broken.

We have failed to encourage spontaneous intercessory prayer. Such prayer when made in faith, moves mountains. It does not have to be wordy but simple words that come from the heart. ‘Heal a sister who has cancer Lord’, Help my neighbour get a job lord,’ ‘take care of our doctors and nurses who care for the sick.’ The list can be endless. God answers the weight of our burden, not the wordiness of our vocabulary.

The friends of the paralytic had their petition heard because they believed. Today, you can move mountains as you pray for those who are in need of your prayers for them. Sometimes, the greatest miracle in a person’s life is the community that won’t let them give up.

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