Gospel & Reflection
Gospel & Reflection for the Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time.
Matthew 9:36-10:8
When Jesus saw the crowds he felt sorry for them because they were harassed and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is rich but the labourers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send labourers to his harvest.’
He summoned his twelve disciples, and gave them authority over unclean spirits with power to cast them out and to cure all kinds of diseases and sickness.
These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew; James the son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, the one who was to betray him. These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them as follows:
‘Do not turn your steps to pagan territory, and do not enter any Samaritan town; go rather to the lost sheep of the House of Israel. And as you go, proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is close at hand. Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out devils. You received without charge, give without charge.’
Reflection
First published in 1937, J.R.R. Tolkien’s ‘The Hobbit’ is a popular fantasy story about Bilbo Baggins, the ‘Hobbit’ of the book’s title. Bilbo reluctantly allows himself to be hired to go on a quest by the Wizard Gandolf, and a group of thirteen dwarves, to steal back a hoard of gold from a fierce dragon named Smaug. However, heading out on an adventure and such dangerous one as that, is not natural for Hobbits.
According to Tolkien, Hobbits are about half the size of an adult human. They have large leathery feet and love to live in comfort and peace, enjoying food and pipe smoking. They hate danger and unexpected adventures. This is amusingly seen in the book when Gandolf disturbs Bilbo’s quiet life saying: “I am looking for someone to share in an adventure that I am arranging, and it’s very difficult to find anyone.” To which Bilbo replies: “I should think so – in these parts. We are plain quiet folk, and [I] have no use of adventures. Nasty disturbing uncomfortable things! Make you late for dinner! I can’t think what anybody sees in them… We don’t want any adventures here, thank you!”
The best of stories, imaginary and real, begin with a call to adventure. There is a task to be done, there is much that may have to be faced and overcome, and people hope for the strength to see things through to the end.
Well, in our Gospel for this weekend, we have listened to the summoning of the first Apostles. Their call was an invitation to an adventure beyond all their imagining; but their summoning was only the beginning. Quickly they were then sent out, and their task of proclaiming the Good News would see them having to overcome both from within and without, discouragement and hostility. It would take them a lifetime to master it, and most of them did so only through their martyrdom. In the end, all but one overcame. They answered the Lord’s adventurous call together and saw their journey through to the end.
Left to ourselves, we would all, I am sure, like the reluctant Bilbo, prefer a quiet life and our own comfortable and safe spaces. But the Gospel does not begin with our preference. It begins with the call of Jesus and those whom He summons, He sends.
Like the Apostles before us, we are summoned and sent to love and witness to God in all that we say and do. This is a beautiful, wonderful, extraordinary adventure but not an easy one. The journey of faith requires heroic values and a daring spirit. It asks us to overcome much from within ourselves and from without. God’s call rarely comes when we feel entirely prepared or when it is perfectly convenient. However, God knows our true potential far better than we do, and as He calls us into something greater than ourselves, He will grace us with what we need to endure.
We will be helped to step beyond what is comfortable and safe for us; helped not be conscientious of what others might think and say about us and not to be embarrassed by our beliefs or to keep them hidden. God will assist us as make a stand against ideologies, actions, laws, and opinions that mock our beliefs or dismiss our faith so easily. But always, even as we make a stand, we are called to love, understand, and embrace those who counter against us and invite them to come to know the God who loves and calls them too. Maybe this requires the greatest bravery of all?
Friends, an adventure, by definition, requires leaving the familiar behind. We cannot be sent if we refuse to move from where we are standing. We pray today for the courage to be always moving, to journey everyday into our families, our community, our society as a child of God, going where He brings us, and doing what He asks of us. With the Lord as our guide and help, any fear or doubt of ours will fade away, and it will fade quickly as we are taken up by the joy of this divine journey, the joy of our holy adventure.
Fr. Richard
