11th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (A)

Jesus sent out these twelve after instructing them thus...‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’

Mt 9:36—10:8

COMMENTARY

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.

The shepherd is a favourite image in the Bible. Jesus applies to himself the image of the Good Shepherd. When the Magi inquired where the Messiah was, the chief priests quoted from the prophet: “And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; since from you shall come a ruler, who is to shepherd my people Israel”.

The image of the shepherd was also applied to the kings of Israel. In 1 Chron 11:2 we read: “Then all Israel gathered about David in Hebron, and they said: "Surely, we are of the same bone and flesh as you. Even formerly, when Saul was still the king, it was you who led Israel in all its battles. And now the LORD, your God, has said to you, 'You shall shepherd my people Israel and be ruler over them.'"

In the Church, the bishops are the primary shepherds. That is why they carry a staff.

Nevertheless, we can say that anyone who is in authority should take the attitude of a good shepherd. The good shepherd takes care of his sheep. The leader looks after the welfare of those under him. May pagmamalasakit ang pastol para sa kanyang tupa. Pagmamalasakit is not just about making sacrifices for those under his care. It is also doing difficult things for them. And one of the things that is difficult to do is correcting them in a constructive way. Those who drink to get drunk is certainly doing wrong. How do you correct in a constructive way? It’s not easy.

“The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.”

Priests and religious are called to do pastoral work. There are not enough priests and religious to take care of the pastoral needs of Filipino Catholics not only in the Philippines but all over the world. We are, therefore, asked to pray for vocations. Why pray? Because to become a priest or religious is to follow the call of one’s heart. Only God can touch people’s hearts.

Can you do more? We can be more forgiving and understanding. We can be more appreciative. When you feel appreciated, you feel like going on.

Continue loving your priests. One Indian priest who studied at the East Asian Pastoral Institute said that he was impressed because he saw how Filipinos loved their priests. When a priest feels unloved, it is easy for him to be tempted to look for love somewhere else.

You can sense when something wrong is going on with your priest. Work with the elders of the community or the parish in discerning how you can help your priest. He might be going through a midlife crisis. He might be experiencing problems of the heart. His family might be going through some crisis and he is affected.

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.

In St. John’s gospel, the miracles of Jesus are called signs. This is because his miracles are meant to convey a message. In the mind of the people in those days, the ability to perform extraordinary deeds of power meant that the apostles had the approval of God.

But there is more to miracles than that. The more important message is that Jesus is the promised Savior who has come to defeat sin and evil in the world and in each individual.

A Baptist relative once asked me: “Are you saved?” I was taken aback be-cause it is not a question we Catholics ask. But it is a good question to ask ourselves. And the answer is something worth reflecting on. The answers are: (1) Yes, Jesus saved me a long time ago. He has already paid the price of my redemp-tion. (2) But Jesus continues to save me because as long as I live there will be a continuing battle between good and evil in my heart. (3) And one day I hope to be definitely saved by Jesus when he welcomes me into his kingdom.

The names of the twelve apostles are these….

This is the first and only time that Matthew calls the twelve disciples, “apostles”. Apostle means someone who is sent. The name is appropriate because the reading ends this way, “Jesus sent out these twelve after instructing them thus, ‘Do not go into pagan territory or enter a Samaritan town….”

FOR LIFE

What do we observe about the choice of Jesus? What we know is that Peter and Andrew and James and John are fishermen. Matthew is a tax collector. Thomas doubted the resurrection of Jesus. Judas Iscariot was a thief and the betrayer of Jesus. Externally we do not see them fit for the great responsibility of being apostles. Why did Jesus choose them?

I heard this story some time ago. They said that in Angola the children used to play with rocks and crystals along the river banks. But when the Europeans came, the Angolans were surprised to see these Europeans collecting these crystals. Later they realized that they were valuable diamonds. Of course, these diamond crystals had to be sent to Europe where they were cut and polished.

In the same way I think that Jesus saw in these twelve apostles diamonds in the rough. That is, they had potential. For three years he would develop their inner qualities until they became polished diamonds, that is, men ready to undertake the responsibility of proclaiming the good news to the ends of the earth.

The first lesson I would like to point out is this: Developing the qualities or abilities of others is a noble work. And this is the work of parents, teachers and leaders.

Hellen Keller was 19 months old when she got sick of an unknown disease. It left her blind and deaf. But when she grew up, she found a great teacher, Anne Sullivan. Anne did not only help her finish college, write books and give lectures but also become a fine woman. Anne helped Hellen Keller become a valuable diamond.

If you are a parent, teacher or leader, become God’s instrument in polishing your children, you students, those under your care into valuable diamonds.

There’s one more thing.

Why is it important for you to know what your potentials are? Why is it important for you to develop your abilities and talents? Because God gave you those talents and abilities so that you may fulfill the mission he has entrusted you to do in this world.

Why is it important to carry out that mission? It is in carrying out that mission that we achieve self-fulfilment. And with self-fulfilment comes great happiness.

When a parent says: “I can die now. My children are all settled in life”, it means he or she has achieved self-fulfilment. And he or she is happy.

When a student writes a note to his priest-friend: “Thank you for being there for me when I had problems.” the priest feels self-fulfilled in his vocation. He feels great happiness.

All of us were born for a reason, for a mission. By developing our talents and abilities we shall be able to carry out that mission well. And by fulfilling our mission in life, we shall experience self-fulfilment and happiness.