Mt 9:35—10:1, 5a, 6-8
35Jesus went around to all the towns and villages, teaching in their
synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and curing every
disease and illness. 36At the sight of the crowds, his heart
was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned,
like sheep without a shepherd. 37Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; 38so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.”
1Then he summoned his twelve disciples
and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out and to
cure every disease and every illness.
5Jesus sent out these twelve after instructing them thus, 6“Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ 8Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons. Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.”
Reflection:
Ask the master of the harvest to send laborers. Besides
pity, Jesus here shows a sense of urgency. Sometimes Jesus seems slow
and calm: “Look at the birds in the sky. Learn from the way the wild
flowers grow… tomorrow will take care of itself” (Mt 6:26, 28, 34). This
time Jesus seems to be in a hurry. When it is about ourselves, Jesus is
relaxed and easy. But when it is about helping others, Jesus sounds
urgent.
Peace is not sitting calmly, with our
feet raised on the table and daydreaming. To be at peace is to know when
to run and when to walk, what needs to be done today and what can be
done tomorrow, when to pity and when to play, what is important and what
is incidental, what is urgent and what could wait.
I do not bring a book when I am at the
beach; I enjoy the sea. I do not think of the sea when I am in my study;
I read a book in there. Knowing where to place ourselves and where to
put our hearts will define our peace.
Sit calmly and quietly in a corner for 15 minutes,
without thinking, planning, or praying for anything.
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