Eleventh Sunday of the year, June 18, 2023
Exodus 19:2-6a, Romans 5:6-11, Matthew 9:36-10:8
In the gospel, we hear how Jesus cared for the people and
sent his disciples to do the same. He sends his disciples out to do the same
work as he did. He gives them the mission to proclaim the Kingdom of God and to
bring peace and harmony to all. He gives them the power to heal and make them
persons according to his heart. The disciples have received a lot from Jesus –
power to preach, heal and bring wholeness and now they are invited to do so,
just like the elderly man in the story who gave Jesus to others.
The reading tells us that Israelites came to the Desert of
Sinai and camped in the desert in front of the mountain. The Lord called to
Moses from the mountain and told him to tell people of the need of their
fidelity to him. They have witnessed his
signs and he carried them out of Egypt, as if on eagle’s wings and has brought
them to himself. If they keep the agreement, namely the covenant, they will be
his own possession, chosen from all nations. Then they will be his kingdom of
priests and a holy nation people belonging to him.
In today’s gospel, Matthew is calling attention to the
mission that the twelve disciples are being given. They are sent by Jesus to
proclaim the kingdom of heaven in word and deed. As Jesus sent his disciples to
continue his work and mission, so too the Church is sent by Jesus. The Church
is his continuing presence on earth. Every member of the Church is sent by
Jesus to contribute to this mission. This calling continues today. Jesus still
calls, as he called the twelve, to continue the loving ministry of Jesus in the
world. At baptism, we receive the water of God's love and the oil of service,
completed in confirmation, marriage and ordination. The needs of God's people
are as great today as then. In a world of addiction, suicide, confusion,
poverty, injustice and many other big needs, Jesus still looks and sees people
'like sheep without a shepherd'. He calls each of us, male and female, young
and old into his service. The Lord is inviting us to give Him wherever
possible. In other words, we are all called to be His missionaries.
What is the spirit of a missionary? Every missionary is
possessed by a sense of generosity, the giving of oneself, one’s time, services
and resources in the service of God’s kingdom becomes possible only when we
realize that all we are and all we have, including life itself, is a gift from
God. It is well explained by Jesus in today’s gospel - “You received without
payment; give without payment” (Matthew 10:8). Being a Christian is, in fact, a life of
conscious receiving and giving back to God. Unfortunately, we often pay much
more attention to receiving than giving. As children of God we receive the
grace of faith, we receive the word of God, we receive forgiveness, we receive
the sacraments, and we receive new life in the Spirit. But we only complete the
circuit of God’s grace when we go out and share these same blessings with those
who do not as yet have them.
Where shall we begin? Mission, like charity, begins at home.
The place for us to begin, therefore, would be with the lapsed and lukewarm
members of our own families and our own parishes. But we must find an avenue to
give back the faith we have received. That is the only way to remain alive and
vibrant in the faith.
Happy Sunday
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