"The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few.”
For quite some time now we have been accustomed to interpreting this passage as referring to the small number of religious and priests laboring in our western society and the large number of faithful – the harvest in parishes and schools – who need a pastor to bring them the sacraments.
In particular we have been encouraged to hear and respond to the Lord’s command to “ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest,” by praying for an increase in vocations to the priesthood and religious life.
Now this is a perfectly accurate, indeed an imperative, interpretation of the text. Without the priesthood there can be no Eucharist, and the Church cannot live without the nourishment of the Body and Blood of the Lord.
Therefore, we are, all of us, responsible for building up a culture of vocations, assuring that young people in all Catholic families are encouraged to discern whether they might have a vocation to religious life or priesthood, and that those who seek to answer the Lord’s call are given the support they need.
During the past year I’ve had the privilege of working on the staff of my community’s collegiate seminary on the campus of the University of Notre Dame. We have twenty young men – bright, energetic, prayerful young men – who are in formation for priesthood in the Congregation of Holy Cross while they work on their undergraduate degrees.
And here in Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish we have seen in the past decade four men from our parish ordained to the priesthood – myself included. So, I firmly believe that we are in fact seeing the answer to our prayers, and the fruit of our hard work in supporting vocational discernment.
Even as the Church in this country, and indeed around the world, suffers under the dark cloud of the sexual abuse crisis, we are seeing a new generation of holy young men and women coming forward, not seeking prestige or honor for themselves, but knowingly embracing religious life and priesthood as a life of sacrificial service.
We need to keep up our fervent prayers for vocations and our support for seminarians, religious and priests.
BUT, it would be a terrible mistake if we were to leave our interpretation of today’s Gospel text at that point. If we did so, we would have failed to understand the even more direct and personal way that this Gospel challenges each and every one of us, and demands a response from us.
In today’s Gospel Jesus sends out on mission not only the Twelve – the Apostles whose ministry is perpetuated in the bishops and priests of the Church – He sends out seventy two disciples, a symbolic number representing the elders who assisted Moses and all the nations of the world in the book of Genesis.
That is to say that Jesus sends out a great multitude of His disciples on a mission of evangelization, proclaiming the Good News of the coming Kingdom. If we imagine that we can simply pray for God to send more priests and religious to evangelize the world, and that this alone fulfills our obligation as disciples, we are sorely mistaken. All of us are called to participate in the Church’s evangelical mission – to proclaim Christ to the ends of the world.
Recently, in one of his monthly prayer intentions, our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI put it this way: “May all the people of God, whom Christ has commanded to go and preach the Gospel to every creature, diligently fulfill their missionary responsibility.”
Do you seek to “diligently fulfill your missionary responsibility . . . to preach the Gospel to every creature?”
You and I may easily absolve ourselves from this responsibility because we think ourselves to be too young, or too old, or otherwise committed to work and to family here on Staten Island to be venturing into remote areas of the world to preach the gospel.
We might absolve ourselves of preaching the Gospel here in our own community because we think to ourselves, “surely there are other people who are better qualified for that kind of thing – people who are smarter, or holier, or more outgoing.”
But in today’s Gospel Jesus sends the disciples on mission telling them to “carry no money bag, no sack, and no sandals.” So do you really think He cares whether or not you have a college degree, or seminary training, or experience as a public speaker? No. All of us, and I mean all of us, as baptized members of His Body the Church are sent by the Lord to spread the news of His Kingdom to everyone we meet.
This does not mean, however, that all of us need to pack our bags for some remote part of the globe. The harvest is abundant right here in New Dorp! So how can each and every one of us participate in the Church’s evangelical mission?
Today’s readings provide several different clues, but I want to focus on just two.
First, in today’s Gospel, after Jesus instructs the disciples to carry no money, sandals or bag, He instructs them in this way: “Into whatever house you enter, first say, “Peace to this household” . . . and say to them, “The kingdom of God is at hand for you.”
If we build peace in our own lives, in our own families and homes – if we strive to live in the peace of Christ and to bring that peace to everyone we meet, we are participating in the evangelical mission of the Church.
How many families and workplaces do you know that are in desperate need of Christ’s peace? If through our devotion, prayer, patience and kindness we can bring some measure of peace to those places, we will be building and announcing the kingdom of God.
Second, in today’s Second Reading, St. Paul writes to the Galatians: “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”
If we accept our share of Christ’s cross – if we endure sickness and suffering with patience, faith and trust . . . If we boast not in our own strength, or intelligence, or wealth, but only in our weakness and in the crosses we are given to carry, we are participating in the evangelical mission of the Church.
How many people do you know who are convinced that they are alone in the world and that they control their own lives and destinies? How many people do you know who are convinced that suffering is a sign of God’s absence from their lives, or of His displeasure with them?
If we seek to do God’s will and to trust, not our own will, but God’s plan for our lives – if we recognize that even God’s beloved Son was given a cross, and we too embrace the cross in our lives, then we will be building and announcing the kingdom of God.
Friends, the harvest is abundant and the laborers are few. And so the Lord has sent each and every one of us out on mission to proclaim the Good News to all creatures.
As we receive the Eucharist today may we be strengthened to live and practice peace, and to embrace the redeeming power of the cross, so that every part of our daily lives might better proclaim the coming kingdom of God.
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