The theme of missionary discipleship is front and centre in today's Gospel. Can you see how it applies to us as it did for the original disciples? Jesus notices that the crowds are "harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd (Mtt 9: 36) In an age where mistrust in civil authorities is increasing and there are so many competing narratives it is apparent to many that those who have no sense of objective truth struggle. Jesus is not indifferent to this plight. It draws his compassion and it should ours. We, who serve him, need also to feel for the world and society rather than condemn it. The Council Fathers in their fourth constitution wrote: "The joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties of the men of this age, especially those who are poor or in any way afflicted, these are the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the followers of Christ. Indeed, nothing genuinely human fails to raise an echo in their hearts." (GS, 1) The number of those ready to continue the work of Jesus is small. Jesus summons his disciples by name, just as he summons and commissions each one of us in Baptism and Confirmation, so that they can be sent out to gather the harvest. He gives his disciples, then and now, the authority to cast out evil and to heal, whether in body or in spirit. He urges them and us to start with the people closest to us. The good news we preach is the Good News that God's kingdom is a reality and is near to all who are prepared to accept it. Why would we embark on such an arduous task for no earthly reward? - "You received without payment; give without payment." (Mtt 10: 8) The answer is given in the Second Reading: "But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us... For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more surely, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life." (Rm 5: 6 and 10)
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