14TH TUESDAY HOMILY IN ORDINARY TIME: YEAR A
HOMILY THEME: “The harvest is rich but the laborers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send laborers to his harvest.”
BY: Bishop Anthony Ewherido
Gen 32:23-33; Psalm 16(17):1-3, 6-8; Matt 9:32-37
The reason Jesus made this statement in Matthew was the condition of the people: harassed, distressed and dejected. There are more laborers supposedly in the Lord’s vineyard now than ever, considering the different Christian denominations and the varied means of getting their message across, more widespread than even before because of the print media, social media and radio-tv evangelism, not to count the growing number and sizes of church buildings and networks.
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Yet, Jesus’ assessment of the condition of our people remains the same if not worse today. People have not felt more harassed, distressed and dejected than they have today. Something is going wrong if the increase and expanded improvements mentioned above are not yielding the expected outcomes. The laborers are not doing their work well. Pope Francis noted this in his recommendation that laborers who do their work should have the smell of their sheep. What churches, mosques, communities, families, schools and even states or countries need are shepherds who have the smell of their sheep; laborers who do their work well, after the example of Christ, the Good Shepherd, who laid down his life for his Sheep. Shepherd and laborers must work and walk the talk to effectively impact life of those entrusted to them. They must be in touch, not out of touch or reach, with their sheep or labor. All must account for their stewardship in the end because their flock was given to them in trust. As we bear our crosses daily, it must feel like we spend our life time wrestling with our faith in God. God does win that struggle, but we must cling to him and not let him depart from us until he has blessed us by giving us victory in our different struggles. Such blessings include the complete transformations that we must experience as people who have encountered God.
Lord, give us and make us effective shepherds and laborers. Amen.
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