The Gospel according to Matthew (9:32-38)
A demoniac who could not speak was brought to Jesus,
and when the demon was driven out the mute man spoke.
The crowds were amazed and said,
“Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.”
But the Pharisees said,
“He drives out demons by the prince of demons.”
Jesus went around to all the towns and villages,
teaching in their synagogues,
proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom,
and curing every disease and illness.
At the sight of the crowds, his 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.”
Reflection:
For today’s reflection, I’d like to focus on that last statement of Jesus that concludes today’s Gospel, in which Jesus asks His disciples to pray that the master of the harvest “send out laborers for his harvest”.
On the one hand, we believe that God can do anything. He is all-powerful. He doesn’t *need* us to do *anything*. He could just as easily do it all Himself (and most likely, do it much better than we can do as human beings). But, God longs for us to participate in His mission on earth, to bring about His Kingdom for those whom we meet each day. God wants us not to just think we are completely passive as recipients of His blessings. He wants us to actively do our part to share those blessings.
I’d like to highlight something from our pastor’s homily for this past Sunday. The theme for his homily was “Do Something”, after the song by Matthew West. Those simple words – “Do Something” – really highlight the call each of us has, and it fits in perfectly with today’s Gospel as well. God wants us to “do something”, and to share His love and mercy to those whom we encounter today. Not just the ones we like. Not just the ones we think “deserve” it. No. We are called to share blessings with everyone.
It’s certainly easier to say those words than to act in that manner. It requires us to see beyond our own opinions, prejudices, and preferences. It requires us to see more with the eyes of our loving Creator. Now, for me, I will say that is absolutely something I cannot do on my own. We can only do it by asking that loving Creator to help us. And, He gave us Someone to help – the Holy Spirit. May we ask the Holy Spirit to guide us today and always, that we may be co-workers with Jesus in the vineyard, and that we do our best by our small kindnesses to bring about His Kingdom today.
Action for the Day:
Okay, I’m sure you know what the action is going to be.. go out there and shine Jesus’ light to someone today. God may work in big miraculous ways, but we don’t have to. We just have to shine the light. Go and “Do Something!”
Link to the DEACON5 website: https://deacon5.com/
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