Frederick, Maryland, United States - Daily Mass Reading & Catholic Meditation “The Word Among Us” for Wednesday, 9 July 2014Meditations: Matthew 10: The Twelve Harvest Hands
1-4 The prayer was no sooner prayed than it was answered. Jesus called twelve of his followers and sent them into the ripe fields. He gave them power to kick out the evil spirits and to tenderly care for the bruised and hurt lives. This is the list of the twelve he sent:
Simon (they called him Peter, or “Rock”),
Andrew, his brother,
James, Zebedee’s son,
John, his brother,
Philip,
Bartholomew,
Thomas,
Matthew, the tax man,
James, son of Alphaeus,
Thaddaeus,
Simon, the Canaanite,
Judas Iscariot (who later turned on him).
5-8 Jesus sent his twelve harvest hands out with this charge:
“Don’t begin by traveling to some far-off place to convert unbelievers. And don’t try to be dramatic by tackling some public enemy. Go to the lost, confused people right here in the neighborhood. Tell them that the kingdom is here. Bring health to the sick. Raise the dead. Touch the untouchables. Kick out the demons. You have been treated generously, so live generously.
Saint Augustine Zhao Rong, Priest, and Companions, Martyrs
Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. (Matthew 10:6)
Have you ever dreamed of being a missionary to some faraway, exotic place? You could travel the world and tell people about the Lord, while setting up hospitals and schools for those in need. But we all know how the reality of daily life keeps us anchored in one place. So much for missionary zeal!
Today’s Gospel reminds us, however, that missionary work does not begin with people halfway around the world. It starts with our next-door neighbors. We see Jesus telling his disciples to go to the people who look and act like them, people who speak the same language and share the same customs. Who knows? The disciples might have been on a first-name basis with some of them!
This is how God wants to work with us as well. He is calling us to go to the “lost sheep” in our neighborhoods. This does not lessen the call, and it by no means narrows your field of work. There are plenty of people in your own town who need friendship and comfort. Many have lost hope or been crushed by misfortune or economic hardship. Think of the young people struggling to find their way in life or the elderly widower whose loss of his wife has left him isolated and bitter. So many people! So much need!
You don’t have to learn another language or travel very far. You know many of the obstacles that these people are facing, since you probably face some of them yourself.
Today, ask the Lord to help you see the “lost sheep” in your own corner of the world. Ask him, also, to show you how to channel your desires and passions into missionary efforts. Maybe you feel a pang in your heart whenever you think about the lonely people in nursing homes. Maybe you feel a kinship with couples whose marriages are struggling. Maybe the cry of the homeless resonates in your mind. If you experience anything like this, it may well be the Spirit sending you out. He may be showing you your own special mission field!
Jesus tells each of us, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few” (Matthew 9:37). How is he calling you?
“Lord, send me to your lost sheep today.” Amen.
Hosea 10: You Thought You Could Do It All on Your Own
1-2 Israel was once a lush vine,
bountiful in grapes.
The more lavish the harvest,
the more promiscuous the worship.
The more money they got,
the more they squandered on gods-in-their-own-image.
Their sweet smiles are sheer lies.
They’re guilty as sin.
God will smash their worship shrines,
pulverize their god-images.
3-4 They go around saying,
“Who needs a king?
We couldn’t care less about God,
so why bother with a king?
What difference would he make?”
They talk big,
lie through their teeth,
make deals.
But their high-sounding words
turn out to be empty words, litter in the gutters.
7-8 Samaria is history. Its king
is a dead branch floating down the river.
Israel’s favorite sin centers
will all be torn down.
Thistles and crabgrass
will decorate their ruined altars.
Then they’ll say to the mountains, “Bury us!”
and to the hills, “Fall on us!”
11-15 Ephraim was a trained heifer
that loved to thresh.
Passing by and seeing her strong, sleek neck,
I wanted to harness Ephraim,
Put Ephraim to work in the fields—
Judah plowing, Jacob harrowing:
Sow righteousness,
reap love.
It’s time to till the ready earth,
it’s time to dig in with God,
Until he arrives
with righteousness ripe for harvest.
But instead you plowed wicked ways,
reaped a crop of evil and ate a salad of lies.
You thought you could do it all on your own,
flush with weapons and manpower.
But the volcano of war will erupt among your people.
All your defense posts will be leveled
As viciously as king Shalman
leveled the town of Beth-arba,
When mothers and their babies
were smashed on the rocks.
That’s what’s ahead for you, you so-called people of God,
because of your off-the-charts evil.
Some morning you’re going to wake up
and find Israel, king and kingdom, a blank—nothing.
Psalm 105:1-6 Hallelujah!
Thank God! Pray to him by name!
Tell everyone you meet what he has done!
Sing him songs, belt out hymns,
translate his wonders into music!
Honor his holy name with Hallelujahs,
you who seek God. Live a happy life!
Keep your eyes open for God, watch for his works;
be alert for signs of his presence.
Remember the world of wonders he has made,
his miracles, and the verdicts he’s rendered—
O seed of Abraham, his servant,
O child of Jacob, his chosen.
7-15 He’s God, our God,
in charge of the whole earth.
And he remembers, remembers his Covenant—
for a thousand generations he’s been as good as his word.
It’s the Covenant he made with Abraham,
the same oath he swore to Isaac,
The very statute he established with Jacob,
the eternal Covenant with Israel,
Namely, “I give you the land.
Canaan is your hill-country inheritance.”
When they didn’t count for much,
a mere handful, and strangers at that,
Wandering from country to country,
drifting from pillar to post,
He permitted no one to abuse them.
He told kings to keep their hands off:
“Don’t you dare lay a hand on my anointed,
don’t hurt a hair on the heads of my prophets.”
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