Sunday readings in brief 11 A
Exodus 19:2-6; Psalms 99(100); Romans 5:6-11; Mathew 9:36-10:8
Consecrated for a Purpose
Dear friends, today is the 11th Sunday in Ordinary time. After the Eastertide celebrations, we embark once more on the period of instructions about the kingdom of God. This season is the longest for a purpose. While in the other 4 seasons, we were focused on a particular event either ahead of us, that is the Advent and the Lenten seasons or an event that has occurred already, that is Christmas and Easter seasons, the Ordinary season seeks to instruct us in understanding the meaning of the former 4 seasons.
In the Gospel reading today Jesus calls upon his disciples to pray for more labourers to work in the field which is ready to be harvested. The field here signifies the people of Israel who were waiting eagerly for the Messiah promised by the prophets but were meanwhile being harassed by their own religious leaders. Jesus refers to them as sheep without a shepherd devastated and scattered all over. In the Book of Exodus, God appointed Moses to shepherd his people in the wilderness. Moses became the intermediary between the people and God. God promised to make the tribe of Israel a Kingdom of Priests and a consecrated nation set aside for a purpose amongst other nations.
When we were baptized, we were consecrated and conferred the three-fold common ministries of Christ namely, priests, kings, and prophets. However, amongst the baptized, God purposefully appoints and anoints some to be shepherds and ministers over the people. The individual consecrated members of the Church have a similar role to that of Moses to shepherd the people and play an intermediary role between them and God. Being an intermediary here signifies not rodding it over the people but intervening on their behalf and being a channel. A religious leader is called on the one hand to bring the people’s pleas to God and on the other hand to channel God’s blessings to the people. They are not to be like the gatekeeper who decides who to allow into God’s premises and who to block based on man-made criteria as many “men and women of God” do today. It is not to extort money and favours from the faithful through threats of damnation. The Catholic Priests are called “padre” (Father) after God’s fatherhood to his people. They must channel God’s fatherly love and decisive care to the people.
As Christians conferred with common consecration that makes us a community of believers, our common and uniting role is to set an example worthy of emulating to other communities of people in the world. Unfortunately, what we witness today is fierce negative competition amongst the Christian communities and many discrepancies to what the Gospel is all about, which leaves other communities wondering what being a Christian entail.
Just as Christ reconciled us to God, our role as his followers is to build bridges of reconciliation amongst ourselves and within the communities where we live. A Christian homestead or house is supposed to be a refuge for those harassed by the world. Every individual Christian or community is supposed to be a shoulder to cry on for the suffering, a hotline for those oppressed and a champion of human values infiltrated on all fronts. People must feel easy and hesitate or rethink committing social injustices in our presence. A real Christian’s values must be conspicuous wherever he or she is whether at home, workplace, on a bus, in the streets, in the classroom, etc. “Your light must shine before others so that seeing your good works, may glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Mt 5:16).
As Christians, we must raise our voices to oppose evil in our society. We must be the first ones who respond to distress calls in our neighbourhood. We must be the whistleblowers when things are not going well in our governance systems. We must be the ones who correct our brothers and sisters when they go wrong and not gossip about them. We must stand to be counted in the most difficult situations when everyone is afraid to make a move against social injustices by our voices or actions. A Christian is not called to be a passive recipient of God’s graces but rather an active champion of the values of the Kingdom of God taught and exemplified by Christ himself. There is no place for indifference in Christian life, one must see, judge and act always and everywhere with love and humility. Jesus called the twelve by names to give them a defined role in his ministries. The same he has done to us by baptism that redeemed us from eternal damnation.
Dear friends, I invite us to reflect and see how we execute our mandate as a people chosen and consecrated through baptism to be the light and salt of the world. Am I growing and becoming mature in Christian living as demanded by my consecration or do I procrastinate or avoid speaking or acting accordingly and let things get worse under my watch.
Have a blessed Sunday!
Fr. Lawrence Muthee, SVD
SVD JAMBO KENTAN 