Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is abundant, but the workers are only few. Ask the
master of the harvest to send workers to gather his harvest.”
Jesus called his Twelve disciples to him, and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to
drive them out, and to heal every disease and sickness.
Jesus sent these Twelve on mission, with the instructions: Go, instead, to the lost sheep of
the people of Israel.
Go, and proclaim this message: The kingdom of heaven is near. Heal the sick, bring the dead
back to life, cleanse the lepers, and drive out demons. Freely have you received, freely give.”
Reflect:
There is a certain urgency to whatever Jesus is seen doing in today’s gospel. He goes around
many towns and villages, teaching and healing. He is busy calling disciples and training them.
He sends them out on a mission. He asks us to pray for more hands to help with the harvest.
He urges us to keep healing, cleansing, raising to life, giving freely, as the Kingdom is near.
Thus, it is evident that realizing the Kingdom is a hard act that calls for our best efforts. The
Kingdom is our shared dream with God, but we must wake up and make it happen. What
poet Ellen Sturgis Hooper wrote about life can be applied to the life in the Kingdom: “I slept,
and dreamed that life was Beauty/ I woke, and found that life was Duty./ Was thy dream then
a shadowy lie?/ Toil on, sad heart, courageously,/ And thou shalt find thy dream to be/ A
noonday light and truth to thee.”
© Copyright Bible Diary 2022