Rev. Fr. Claudius UWAOMA ISch.

 

Greetings to you dear beloved in Christ. May the blessings of God abide with us all the days of life, amen.

Looking deeply into today’s readings, we will all understand that God’s choice of Israel as a nation is gratuitous and in keeping with His covenant with their forebears as Moses reminds them in the first reading (Ex. 19). Also, in the Gospel reading, God’s choice of Israel is extended to the new Israel represented by the twelve apostles whom Jesus calls and sends on a mission. This choice speaks again of God’s gratuitous love, a gift which the disciples must learn to understand and spread following the example of Christ.

 

In Mathew’s Gospel we see Christ’s concern for those in Israel who are sick, sinners, outcasts, or afflicted by demons. He shows compassion and deep emotional concern for the crowds who came to Him. Having no leaders, Jesus likens them to sheep without a shepherd. Ezekiel 34 used the image of sheep without shepherd to describe the suffering of God’s people due to the corrupt leaders of Israel in his days, corrupt leaders who did not shepherd the people to walk in God’s ways but left them scattered and vulnerable to attack. At the end, Ezekiel foretold that God would come to shepherd the people Himself, uniting them under one shepherd. Mathew sees in Jesus the fulfillment of this prophesy. Jesus is the new shepherd who gathers the people of Israel.

 

Jesus, the new shepherd, decries the problem of insufficient labourers in the vineyard; ‘the harvest is abundant, but the labourers are few.’ Although the crowds express enthusiasm over Christ’s kingdom (Mt 7, 28), there are no leaders to reap this spiritual harvest. In response to this problem, He appoints twelve apostles as leaders in his kingdom.

 

The constitutive number twelve is linked to the twelve tribes of Israel. By selecting just twelve persons as leaders in His kingdom Jesus indicates that His kingdom is the new Israel. Just as Moses had twelve tribal leaders who assisted him in leading Israel Numbers 1. Jesus, the new Moses, appoints twelve apostles to help Him carry out His mission and ministry.

 

To be sure, the twelve in this passage do not only represent priests and religious, but the whole people of God. Jesus says, ‘The harvest is abundant, but the labourers are few, ask the Lord to send labourers into His vineyard.’ The Church will ever need labourers. All hands must be on deck! There are no unemployment and joblessness in the Church because there is an abundance of work to be done. No one is useless; no one is without a calling. No one is lost; no one is to be idle in the Church. The Church offers everyone something to do which confers meaning, value, dignity and hope. Teaching and healing are two of the main pillars on which the public ministry of Jesus rests in Mathew’s gospel, a ministry to which we the apostles of the newest time are appointed. Jesus gives the apostles (those who are sent) a share in his own authority, to participate in the authority of the one who sends them. He not only authorizes his disciples but commands them to bring the power of the kingdom to bear on the needs of the sick, lepers and those afflicted by demons, teaching them and healing them. Everyone has been entrusted with a ministry, with the mission of working for the wellness of God’s people. Where do I see myself called to serve in the Church, the new Israel? Jesus turned the words of Christian truth into the deeds of Christian love. We are not truly Christians at all until our Christian belief issues into Christian action. Where, then, can I turn words of Christian truth into deeds of Christian love and action?

 

The twelve apostles represented a wide range of imperfect personalities, drawn from diverse backgrounds, and approaches to the problems Isreal faced in the first century. Some (like Simon the zealot) had nationalistic and revolutionary leanings in their upbringing, others (Mathew) cooperated with foreign oppressors to collect taxes from fellow Jews. Some (Philip and Andrew) had upbringing that tolerated Gentile culture. They all became one in Jesus, united for the one mission. As Jesus united all these diverse men yesterday for the one mission, today He wants to unite us in our wide range of backgrounds, temperaments, and approaches, so that we may serve the one mission He has given to the Church. We may be of different nationalities, tongues, or colour. But Jesus invites us to look beyond all the differences and live in unity. Father, that they may be one.

Shalom.