He summoned his twelve disciples and sent them out

Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year A

Collect

O God, strength of those who hope in you, graciously hear our pleas, and, since without you mortal frailty can do nothing, grant us always the help of your grace, that in following your commands we may please you by our resolve and our deeds. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Ammen. 

Exodus 19:2-6a

A reading from the Book of Exodus

In those days, the Israelites came to the desert of Sinai and pitched camp.
While Israel was encamped here in front of the mountain,
Moses went up the mountain to God.
Then the LORD called to him and said,
“Thus shall you say to the house of Jacob;
tell the Israelites:
You have seen for yourselves how I treated the Egyptians
and how I bore you up on eagle wings
and brought you here to myself. 
Therefore, if you hearken to my voice and keep my covenant,
you shall be my special possession,
dearer to me than all other people,
though all the earth is mine.
You shall be to me a kingdom of priests, a holy nation.”

The word of the Lord.
℟. Thanks be to God.

Psalm 100:1-2, 3, 5

℟. (3c): We are his people: the sheep of his flock.

Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
    serve the LORD with gladness;
    come before him with joyful song. ℟.

Know that the LORD is God;
    he made us, his we are;
    his people, the flock he tends. ℟.

The LORD is good:
    his kindness endures forever,
    and his faithfulness to all generations. ℟.

Romans 5:6-11

A reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Romans

Brothers and sisters:
Christ, while we were still helpless, 
yet died at the appointed time for the ungodly.
Indeed, only with difficulty does one die for a just person,
though perhaps for a good person
one might even find courage to die.
But God proves his love for us
in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.
How much more then, since we are now justified by his blood,
will we be saved through him from the wrath.
Indeed, if, while we were enemies,
we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son,
how much more, once reconciled,
will we be saved by his life.
Not only that,
but we also boast of God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
through whom we have now received reconciliation.

The word of the Lord.
℟. Thanks be to God.

Acclamation before the Gospel
see Mk 1:15

Hallelujah. ℟. Hallelujah.

Is-Saltna ta’ Alla waslet;
indmu u emmnu fl-Evanġelju.

℟. Hallelujah.

Mt 9:36 – 10:8

✠ A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew

At the sight of the crowds, Jesus’ heart was moved with pity for them 
because they were troubled and abandoned,
like sheep without a shepherd.
Then he said to his disciples,
“The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few;
so ask the master of the harvest
to send out laborers for his harvest.”

Then he summoned his twelve disciples
and gave them authority over unclean spirits
to drive them out and to cure every disease and every illness.
The names of the twelve apostles are these:
first, Simon called Peter, and his brother Andrew;
James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John;
Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew the tax collector;
James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus;
Simon from Cana, and Judas Iscariot who betrayed him.

Jesus sent out these twelve after instructing them thus,
“Do not go into pagan territory or enter a Samaritan town.
Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’
Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons.
Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.”

The Gospel of the Lord.
℟. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Reflection

In this Sunday’s Gospel, we read the first part of the second of five lengthy discourses that give Matthew’s Gospel its structure. This discourse speaks about the disciple who is sent and what he will have to face while carrying out the mission for which he has been sent. 

We may therefore say that these few verses bring us into contact with the very earliest moments of the Lord’s family on earth: the Church. Seeing humanity scattered and dispersed, Jesus begins to lay the foundations upon which, little by little, he will build the Church through which the Good News will reach everyone. 

At the same time, we see that Christ’s choice springs from a profound awareness of the people’s situation of isolation: “he had compassion on them.” Faced with this situation, which was almost one of despair, Jesus sees an opportunity. He turns to his disciples and says: “The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few. Therefore, ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest.” As he does in some of his parables, Jesus describes the world, humanity, as a great harvest. Although the harvest is often a symbol of the final judgement, here and elsewhere it is also a saving judgement, where there is fruit to be gathered.

These words also remind us that the harvest does not belong to us but to God. The Father is the Lord of the harvest, the farmer who prunes the vine (see John 15:1–2). For this reason, Jesus prays for labourers, because it is not they who bring the fruit to maturity, but the Holy Spirit. 

At the same time, despite the greatness of the harvest, Jesus focuses for the moment on “the lost sheep of the house of Israel”. It is only after the Resurrection that the disciples are sent out into the whole world. Yet for this mission, which is destined to extend across the face of the earth, it must first begin in a specific place, within a particular situation and culture, among concrete people. This is also how we, as baptised Christians, are called to receive the mission of Jesus, who sends us as messengers making him present—not everywhere in the world, but each one of us in the place we find ourselves in. 

Prayer

Lord, with willingness and through our intercession, we ask you to look upon your abundant harvest and send labourers into it, so that the Gospel may be proclaimed to all humanity. May your people continue to gather to hear your Word and be strengthened through the sacraments, so that they may move forward on the path of salvation and love. Amen. 

 

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