Homily for Saturday of the 1st Week of Advent
Theme: Have A Heart!
Magdala
By: Rev. Bill Frere
Homily for Saturday December 4 2021
Gospel – Matthew 9: 35-10:1, 5A, 6-8
We have a Christmas Drive going on this holiday season at St. Robert Bellarmine. We’re collecting toys and games to support the efforts of the Mission of Our Lady of the Angels as they prepare for their annual Children’s Christmas Party. Every year I become a worry wart. Will we collect enough? Will people be generous? My hope is that people will take the time and effort to go out and buy a toy or board game or a basketball, anything to put a smile on the face of a needy child. I know that whatever we collect will be a blessing!
But it’s not just about the physical effort involved or the time spent to complete the task. More importantly, it’s about our motivation. It’s about recognizing the needs of those less fortunate and responding to them, particularly at a time when more people are homeless, more are hungry and more are without a job. It’s about compassion not just for the adults but especially for their children!
And that is what we hear in today’s Gospel. Yes, Jesus does send out the disciples on a mission – to preach, to teach and to heal. Yes, He does share with us that line about “the harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few.” But all of that happens AFTER He sees the crowd and is moved with pity. All of that happens AFTER He sees that they are troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd. And He responds with compassion!
And that is the mission that Jesus is calling all of us to follow! To preach, to teach! But most importantly TO CARE! To tend to the lost sheep by responding to their needs with compassion and love! Let’s all keep that in mind and in practice during this season of joy and giving!
Rev. Bill Frere