Matthew 9, 36-10, 8:
Sunday, June 18th, 2023 (11th OT A)
“When Jesus saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were worn out and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd… He called his disciples and gave them authority to cast out unclean spirits and to cure every disease and sickness… Go and proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is near. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.
Several times the gospel presents us with Jesus denouncing the religious leaders of Israel because they were misleading the people. Jesus sees it, feels it and has compassion for them. He himself chooses, gives authority and sends the twelve with a mission: to announce and make present the Kingdom of God, teaching, healing, liberating….
Today the Lord is still concerned about his people. He continues to ask us to pray to the Lord of the harvest… and he does not leave us helpless: he continues to send us, Christians, his disciples, as he had previously sent to the twelve. We must be aware of the commitment we made at our baptism and try to live making his Kingdom a reality. It is not rare to hear some people complaining that there are no young priests, that those who are older are as if they were stuck in earlier times, that they are not up to the demands of the times in which we live… but they forget the Lord’s command: “Ask the Lord of the harvest”. They also forget the words of Jesus: “You are the salt of the earth and the light of the world!” If we were more consistent in our lives as Christians, there might not be so much confusion.
Juan Ramón Gómez Pascual, cmf
Do you remember that you are light and salt?
