ELEVENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

Exodus 19: 2-6a; Romans 5: 6-11; Matthew 9: 36 –10: 8

Rev. Dr. Francis Perry Azah

Today's Gospel Reading, the sending of the twelve disciples, is the big "WHAT NOW?" that concludes the first two readings. We have received God's promise. We have faith in Christ. We have been baptized. We have been justified. We have been admitted into the Body of Christ, the spiritual Kingdom of God. We have continuously received the Sacrament of Confession to maintain our righteousness. And we have participated in the weekly celebration of Holy Mass to receive the Bread of Life, the Real Presence of Jesus. What now? Now we must allow the Holy Spirit to flow freely through us. We must allow the Holy Spirit to manifest good works through us by the grace of God. How do we do that? It is by answering our call to go forward and spread the Good News as members of the common priesthood. This is because we are agents of the Good News of salvation and the new evangelization. Some may feel that this is difficult to do while being alone. Is there a necessity to do it alone?

If you paid attention to today's Gospel Reading, you noticed that the Apostles' names were mentioned in pairs. First, there was Simon and his brother Andrew. Then there was James and his brother John. Then we have Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew, James and Thaddaeus. Finally, there was James, the son of Alphaeus and Judas Iscariot. The pairing of the disciples' names suggests they were sent out in pairs to minister to others. Surely, in pairs, all of us can find the courage and strength to minister in the name of the Lord Jesus. Mothers and fathers can minister to their children. Brothers and sisters can minister to others together. Workers can minister to other workers.

By applying the companion system, Christians can develop a strategy for spreading the Good News and do so together. As Jesus said, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few." [Mt. 9:37] We have been called to be treasured possessions of the Lord God. To maintain our status as "children of God," we must not be ashamed to go forward and do the Lord's work among our family, relatives, peers, friends, neighbors, and even co-workers. In truth, it is not we who do the good works but rather the Holy Spirit who is manifesting the grace of God through us as humble subjects of Divine love towards others.

This weekend’s Gospel contains a word one could spend a lifetime reflecting on: “At the sight of the crowds, Jesus' heart was moved with compassion for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd.” Compassion is at the heart of Jesus’ message of Good News. It is a timely reminder that being followers of Jesus means not ‘having all the answers’ or being God’s fix-it people, but rather joining ourselves to Christ, who is the “compassion of God”.

What people encountered when they met Jesus was not a man with all the answers, but a man with the compassion and love of God, and this transformed, healed, and freed them. A constant feature of both the Old and New Testaments is the selection of certain men as ordained ministers of God´s love. These men are invested with God´s power and authority at the service of his love. The choice of the Twelve Apostles, with Peter as the first to be named, provides the essential structure on which God´s Church is built. This simple ordering serves the communion of all people in Jesus Christ. All authority and power are meant to be signs of the love of God towards each person.

Jesus Christ has shown us that the Christian use of authority is different from other forms of human power. In the Last Supper, he shows that divine power and authority are administered as a slave would wash his master´s feet, or as a good shepherd would die for his flock. Jesus´ mandate to his Apostles is to heal and to cure. We are reminded that the Gospel message is one of salvation, not condemnation. It implies concern for knowing the state of each person´s life and for providing what he or she needs to live a truly human and Christian life.

This requires an understanding of salvation as an adequate response, moved by God´s love, to the integral person's needs. The Christian faith sustains that there is an overriding purpose in creation and in human life. Everything is a part of a plan. When the readings speak of God´s love in creation and salvation, they refer to the wisdom and purpose of God that draw all things, and ourselves (by our free decision), to union with him. That is the Christian prospect. Within that horizon, we are called and spiritually equipped to be intelligent protagonists of God´s loving purpose, working through all things and through people´s lives. Let us all continue to be faithful to our individual and collective callings and allow the Holy Spirit to manifest God's marvels through us.