Reflection on the Gospel of the Tuesday
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Matthew 9: 32-38 |
In today’s gospel the writer mentions that Jesus was moved with pity/had deep compassion for the needs of the people. He sees them harassed and dejected, wandering and aimless like sheep without a guiding shepherd – a very familiar image in the Old Testament (Ezekiel 34). Then, looking at his disciples, he says, “The harvest is rich but the labourers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send labourers to his harvest.” Jesus said this because he knew he will need many helpers.
Today, the situation has not changed. The harvest is as big as ever; people are as lost, confused, frustrated and aimless, as they have ever been in spite of the great strides in knowledge we have made. Where are the labourers? They are not just the bishops, priests, religious brothers and sisters. That is a very narrow concept of labourers. Every single baptized person is called, in some way, to be a labourer/harvester, to help people find and experience the truth and love that God gives in Jesus. Every single person you and me, in that sense and it is a very real sense, is a labourer.
What and where and with whom is our Lord calling you and me to be a labourer in his harvest of – our parish, family, neighbourhood, workplace or to a stranger on the road?
