11th SUNDAY OF THE YEAR 23

11TH SUNDAY, 18 JUNE 2023, HOLY MASS REFLECTION EXODUS 19. 2-6a; ROMANS 5. 6-11; MATTHEW 9. 36 – 10.8   (Aspect 1)   Pivot: Equipped and sent on a mission!   Indicative: Our mission is the Lord’s and our power is also his. Blessed are they who are aware of this and do everything in the spirit of surrender and loyalty   1.      It is the Lord’s mission: Today once again, great clarity is given about our mission. First of all, it is the mission of the Lord, and not our personal enterprise or self-made mission. However, this does not go against owning up the mission or assuming personal responsibility.   2.      It is a committed mission: A sense of indifference and non-committal outlook is detrimental to the mission. The fact of being sent by the Lord on his own mission would act as a check on various counts: against undue tendencies to privatize and monopolize different ministries; against being puffed up by the successes and accomplishments in the mission, and against seeking self-gratification and self-glory. Instead, it would foster a diligent spirit of stewardship, with a spirit of holy detachment.   3.      It is an integral mission: this mission is twofold: to preach and to heal, a mission in word and deed. This indicates that it is an integral and holistic mission, because a true mission would be a matter of example by whole life. Any disintegration or dichotomy between one’s faith and concrete actions would be a clear failure and infidelity to the mission.   4.      It is an empowered mission: Further, the Lord does not send us empty-handed but empowers and equips us with his own power. Therefore, there is no need at all to depend at all on worldly securities like “staff, bag, bread, clothes or money”. We have nothing to lack or fear because the Lord’s own power sustains us. As long as God is with us, all the other concerns and pursuits become secondary.   5.      It is a never-tiring mission: God is never tired of loving us. He never ceases to invite us to turn and return to Him, to realise and to repent for our obstinacy, mediocrity and infidelity. He feels compassionate and anguished at our situations of sickness, trouble, abandonment and loss of direction and guidance. He wants to illumine and guide us with His teaching. 6.      It is a healing mission: He wants to heal us and make us healthy integrally. He wants to expel all the demons and evil forces that possess us, which make us deaf and dumb and which take away our spiritual and fraternal sensitivity and agility. He assures us that He never abandons us and so there is no need to feel abandoned. We need to be the healers and promoters of God’s reign for our times. 7.      It is a recuperating mission: “To the lost”: Today, we find an engulfing reign of evil, where prevail unclean spirits, disease and illness, which are not only the physical. This exactly is the situation of being the “lost sheep” that Jesus mentions in the gospel. There is an urgent need to retrace our lost way. to be dispossessed of the evil, to be cleansed of our moral and spiritual sickness. 8.      It is a personal mission: This task is entrusted to each one of us, in line with the Twelve. God calls each one by name, so personal and so important in God’s design and work. The fact that the names of the twelve apostles are mentioned indicates that our vocation and mission are very personal and personally significant. It is not only a collective, community mission of the church but also of each disciple. Imperative: If God has given you broad shoulders, then shoulder his mission with responsibility and fidelity   (Aspect 2) Pivot: The passionate Lord is compassionate! Indicative: God never leaves us in our stress and distress to fight a lone battle. All that is needed is to turn and cling to Him even in our struggle 1.      In the gospel, Jesus saw the crowd and felt compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Today too, God sees all of us and certainly feels compassion for all, because we are truly harassed and helpless, exactly like sheep without a shepherd. 2.      How many fears and anxieties, how much violence and selfishness, how much misery snatch away the beauty and joy of life! In how many numberless ways humanity is harassed and helpless? Without doubt, many are like sheep without a shepherd. 3.      Yes, many lack the true shepherding that comprises protection, care and guidance. Many are unprotected, exposed to the assaults of evil. They are not properly cared for and not nurtured, and thus not receive the proper nourishment and strength. 4.      Many are also prone to be misguided and led astray. Therefore, we must turn to our only shepherd, the only one who can heal our situation. In his time, Jesus healed many of their sicknesses and evil-possession. 5.      He taught them the right path and directed them on the same. He would never give up, despite being falsely blamed and accused. No doubt he never stops this never-ending mission. 6.      But, he wants to involve us in this holy mission, which is like cultivating a crop and reaping a rich harvest. He wants us to be fully committed labourers. We need to uproot the roots of evil, which is the true infirmity and demon-possession. 7.      We need to transplant God’s comfort and strength. We need to continue the same mission with undaunted zeal and unshaken faith in God. Only a persevering clinging to God would enable us to be sheep that belong to the shepherd. It will also make us collaborate with the shepherd, working hard and reaping an abundant harvest of sheep with the shepherd. Imperative: True passion must lead to compassion. True compassion cannot be sustained for long without deep passion for the Lord and mission. We need to be transmitters of passion with compassion   (Aspect 3) Pivot: Mission with power! Indicative: In a power-crazy and power-abusing world, Jesus shows us real power. Real power is a means and tool for doing good, for establishing the kingdom of God 1.      In the gospel today, Jesus gives authority to his Twelve. He empowers them with his own power and authorizes them to carry on his own mission. But this power and authority is not to subjugate and manipulate others. It is not for seeking and promoting self-interests. 2.      The real power and authority is divinely sanctioned. It comes from God. It is therefore something divine and sacred. It is also meant to be kingdom-oriented and other-oriented. That is why Jesus orders his disciples, to preach that “The kingdom of God is at hand”. 3.      That is why, as he endows them with authority, the purpose too is clearly mentioned. It is to “cast out the unclean spirits, and to heal every disease and every infirmity”. 4.      The Kingdom of God is not so much a place up in the heavens, out there after death. It is also not merely a spiritual domain, with lots of spirituality and religious activities. It is where and when God reigns. It is the situation and experience of God being near to us, taking control of our life. It is where the godly values of love, justice and peace prevail. 5.      Therefore, in this context, any power and authority that does not promote God’s reign, that is not benevolent and beneficial to others, is not a true authority. Any authority that reels on the heels of human manipulation is a degenerated one. 6.      Any authority that does not preserve its sanctity but is so much tainted by worldliness is already a corroded one. Further, any authority that is ego-centred, ego-projecting and ego-promoting is a mean authority. 7.      Further, the mission entrusted to the disciples is primarily directed to “the lost sheep”. That is, first of all, it is a “mission within”, a mission to repair, and rejuvenate our own selves, our own lives, our own hearts, our own communities and families, our relatives, friends and surroundings. Direction: It is good that we are concerned about changing the whole world. But let us not neglect our own “small worlds” that we live and interact with day in and day out