Daily Catholic Lectio
Thu, 2 July 2026
XIII Sunday in Ordinary Time
Am 7:10-17. Mt 9:1-8
Take Courage
(a) Background and Meaning of the First Reading
Today’s first reading presents the conflict between Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, and the prophet Amos. Amos had come from the southern kingdom of Judah to the northern kingdom of Israel around 750 BC. He warned the people that Israel would face exile because of its injustice and unfaithfulness. Amaziah, however, twisted the words of Amos and stirred up the king and the people against him.
He tells Amos: “Go, flee away to the land of Judah. Earn your bread there.” Amaziah thinks that Amos is prophesying merely to make a living.
Amos responds by recalling his call: “I was no prophet, nor did I belong to a company of prophets; I was a shepherd and a dresser of sycamores. The Lord took me from following the flock and said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’”
Amos did not choose prophecy as a profession. God called him while he was doing ordinary work. Therefore, he could not remain silent simply because others opposed him.
He then announces the consequences that Amaziah and his household will face. Even when his mission is misunderstood and attacked, Amos continues to speak with courage.
(b) Background and Meaning of the Gospel
In today’s Gospel, Jesus crosses back from the territory of the Gentiles and returns to His own town. There, a paralysed man is brought to Him.
Mark and Luke describe how the man is lowered through the roof because of the crowd. Matthew leaves out this detail. In Matthew’s Gospel, the community is not presented as an obstacle to discipleship. Rather, the community becomes the place where a person can encounter Jesus.
Seeing their faith, Jesus says to the paralysed man: “Courage, child, your sins are forgiven.”
At the time of Jesus, illness was often understood as the result of sin. By forgiving the man’s sins, Jesus goes to what people considered the root of his suffering.
The scribes accuse Jesus of blasphemy. Jesus therefore asks: “Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’?”
The forgiveness of sins is an interior action that no one can see. The command to rise and walk produces a visible result that everyone can examine.
Jesus heals the man so that the people may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins. The man rises, takes up his stretcher, and goes home.
The crowds are filled with awe and glorify God, who has given such authority to human beings. They still see Jesus mainly as a human person, but they recognise that divine power is working through Him.
(c) Lessons for Life
Jesus says to the paralysed man: “Take courage.” The man needs courage to receive forgiveness, to rise, and to begin walking again. Jesus Himself also acts courageously. He does not withdraw because of the murmuring of the scribes. He speaks and acts according to the authority given to Him.
In the first reading, Amos remains courageous even when his prophetic mission is opposed. He knows that his calling does not come from Amaziah, the king, or the people. It comes from God.
People often resist when they feel that someone is disturbing an accepted way of life. They oppose those who question injustice, challenge familiar customs, or call them to conversion.
Yet a person of God receives courage by remaining rooted in God.
Today, we may need courage to speak the truth, to begin again after failure, to accept forgiveness, or to rise from a situation that has paralysed us. The Lord says to us: “Take courage.”
When we remain rooted in God, opposition does not silence us, fear does not control us, and weakness does not keep us lying down.
Fr. Yesu Karunanidhi
Archdiocese of Madurai
A Yesni Prays Initiative
Yesu Karunanidhi 
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