Fr Paul Gooley reads from the Gospel of Matthew (9: 32-38) in which Jesus sees the many needs of the people and says, ‘The harvest is rich, but the labourers are few so ask the Lord of the harvest to send labourers to his harvest.”

Fr Paul says to complete his series of ten wonders Matthew seems to have taken the story of the cure of two blind men at Jericho and the story of the blind and deaf demoniac. On both occasions of this story, he includes the sarcastic reaction from the Pharisees that Jesus is working in the power of the prince of devils.

Nevertheless, in this last triad of healing-stories Matthew is stressing that Jesus is the saviour of Israel: the blind men call him ‘Son of David’; the crowds reflect that nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel, and Matthew points out that Jesus goes round teaching ‘in their synagogues’.

Fr Paul invites us to reflect on today’s Gospel challenge… Jesus has the power to heal. What needs healing in my life?