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Our Sunday Reflection - June 18, 2023
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Jesus summoned the Twelve and sent them out.Matthew 9:36 - 10:8
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Introduction to the Liturgy of the Day
From today to the end of November, we celebrate a nearly unbroken string of Sundays in Ordinary Time. However, let this not be a sign that nothing special happens until Advent begins. Ordinary Time is merely the period outside the climactic seasons of Christmas and Easter and the preparatory seasons of Advent and Lent. It is a time to explore the earthly life and ministry of Jesus between his birth and his death and to grow as a Christian disciple. Today we hear Jesus tell his disciples, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few.” Let us listen prayerfully so we may discern how he is calling us to be those laborers today.Introduction to the Liturgy of the Word
Running through today’s readings is the theme of dedication. In Exodus, God dedicates the Chosen People as a holy nation. Paul points out that Christ died for us sinners, in the ultimate act of dedication to his formidable mission. In the Gospel, Jesus sends the Twelve out for the first time, instructing them to dedicate themselves to doing all the things they’d seen him do. May today’s readings inspire us to dedicate ourselves in the same way.Reflections
- In the first reading, we hear God tell Moses that the Chosen People are to be “a kingdom of priests, a holy nation” (Exodus 19:6). Their rescue from slavery in Egypt, borne by God “on eagle wings” (19:4), is a sign of the bond between God and the people. Similarly, the Church is a holy people, each person baptized into the priesthood of all believers. Our rescue from the slavery of sin by the blood of the cross, borne by God to reconciliation with God and to eternal life, is a sign of the bond established in baptism. May we, like Paul, “boast of God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:11), who has blessed us for hundreds of generations.
- Up until now in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus has been carrying out his mission all over Galilee: curing the sick and driving out demons, teaching crowds and welcoming sinners, proclaiming God’s kingdom. The disciples have watched him do all this. Now he calls upon them to do the same. He knows that he will not be able to do it all by himself forever. He knows that he will have to leave his work in the hands of others, of laborers for the harvest. Two thousand years later, we are his disciples, likewise deputized to tend to those with physical or emotional infirmities, to embrace the lost and troubled, and to give hope to the weary.
- The final line of today’s Gospel, simple as it is—“Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give” (Matthew 10:8)—should give us confidence and direction for carrying out Jesus’ mission. We, like the first disciples, have received the power to do all the wonders that Jesus did, despite our failings, despite our sinfulness, and despite our unworthiness. We are now directed to pass on that power to others, despite their failings, sinfulness, and unworthiness. This is our mission.
Question of the Week
How am I called to be a laborer for the harvest? What concrete thing can I do this week to carry out Jesus’ mission?
-from Pastoral Patterns
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readings of the mass
LISTEN HERE to the Audio Recordings of the Readings of Sunday, June 18, 2023
SELECT HERE for the Readings of Sunday, June 18, 2023
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Offerings
The Sunday offerings are a portion of our blessings that we give to God (Church) in gratitude to what God has done for us...ONLINE GIVING OPTIONS -
Reflections on the readings
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