When Jesus saw the crowds, he had compassion for them because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.  Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest.”

Then Jesus summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness.  These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon, also known as Peter, and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee and his brother John;  Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus and Thaddaeus;  Simon the Cananaean and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed him.

These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not take a road leading to gentiles, and do not enter a Samaritan town, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.  As you go, proclaim the good news, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’  Cure the sick; raise the dead; cleanse those with a skin disease; cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment.”

After all the feasts from Advent to Pentecost, we pick up again the regular reading for the Gospel according to Matthew — and we start at a very good place: the sending of the Twelve. In our day, the harvest is getting “richer” and the labourers are becoming “fewer”. Although our Gospel names the special group of the twelve, it is clear that mission is the task of all disciples, without distinction or exception. This has been repeatedly affirmed since Vatican II and more recently has been become real to us on account of the Synodal Pathway initiative.

If we stood back for a moment and asked ourselves what are we proclaiming, perhaps the simple description would be a starting point: There is God; he is as he is in Jesus; there is hope. In other words, we are proclaiming God’s faithful love, as disclosed in Jesus’ death and resurrection.

We used to have a different story: a dark one of one of sin, anger and punishment. In a reduced form: Adam sinned, God was offended and Jesus bore the punishment. This story still survives in hymns and prayers.

POINTERS FOR PRAYER

1.      Compassion is the characteristic of Jesus throughout the Gospels — a deep empathy and love, in the face of suffering. In my world, who are the people who challenge me to compassionate living? When I find it difficult (for whatever reason), how do I respond?

2.  Jesus first called the disciples and then, after time with him, he chose and sent out the twelve apostles. As my discipleship deepens, is the Lord calling me to some ministry, a concrete commitment to service and the building up of the community of faith? How am I responding?

3.  Jesus wants his messengers to be focussed on the mission — first of all to their fellow Jews. In the early church, this vision widens to making “disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28).. How do I see myself as a disciple on a mission in our world today?

We have received without charge, let us give without charge