Gospel Lectio Divina for the Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time - June 18, 2023
Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created. And You shall renew the face of the earth.
O, God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations, Through Christ Our Lord, Amen.
READ
At the sight of the crowds, Jesus’ heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.”
Then he summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out and to cure every disease and every illness. The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon called Peter, and his brother Andrew; James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus; Simon from Cana, and Judas Iscariot who betrayed him.
Jesus sent out these twelve after instructing them thus, “Do not go into pagan territory or enter a Samaritan town. Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons. Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.”
MEDITATE
The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few.
When Jesus said these words, the harvest was abundant. He walked the earth. Truth himself was present to the people he met, and their souls were as ripe for salvation as any ever could be when they were in the presence of the living God.
But the harvest is still abundant. Jesus still dwells with us, and his spirit still fills us. His influence and presence is just as real today as it was when he spoke these words. Time is an insignificant thing for God. What we see as thousands of years, he just sees as a passing age. What will we do with this fleeting time we have here on earth? Will we go out and harvest souls for Christ? Has my soul been harvested for Christ, or am I still holding back the blessings God gave me? If so, when will I finally decide that the time has come for me to bloom and share the gifts God has given me? For some, it is time to go out and bring souls to Christ. For others, it is time to bear fruit to be harvested.
Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
How relevant these words are even today! Today we may say that we ought to go out to the lost sheep, not of the house of Israel, but of the Church. Less than 20 percent of Catholics attend Church regularly, and less than 20 percent of those Catholics are active in their parish beyond weekly Mass. Talk about a plentiful harvest! If we simply encouraged our fellow Catholics to come to Church more, and encouraged those who go to church to get involved in the parish community, we would have the most vibrant, influential community in our country. No one unites like Christ, especially when we develop a relationship with him founded on Catholic teaching. So let’s not be bashful. The calling of the twelve disciples was just the beginning. We can all be like Christ and invite fellow believers into deeper communion with Christ and his Church.
The kingdom of heaven is at hand.
When salespeople join a new company, they are given scripts to pitch the company’s products and/or services. One can say Jesus was the greatest salesperson then because he gave his disciples a script that converted billions of people, and after 2,000 years it still hasn’t gotten old. It may sound disingenuous or disrespectful to call Jesus a salesperson. But, of course, he is not just a salesperson. He is the Son of God who is offering everyone eternal life, which is much better than anything anyone can ever try to sell. But, he still had to win people over. He still had to convince people that he was the Son of God and that he was genuine in his offer. In fact, salespeople can learn a thing or two from Jesus; how he was confident in his message, how he spoke truthfully and honestly—telling people the true price of his offer of eternal life, and thinking of others before himself. Jesus’ sales pitch for the kingdom of God was the ultimate, dare I say original, sales pitch–and it spoke of a sale that has been going strong ever since because the kingdom of heaven is still being offered to all of us 2,000 years later.
Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.
Every Mass is a commissioning of Jesus’ disciples. At the end of each Mass, the priest or deacon sends us forth just as Jesus sent forth his first disciples. We are ready to go forth because we’ve just received the abundant gift of the Eucharist for free. Now we are called to give it to the rest of the world. Thus, it is fitting that this Gospel passage is read the Sunday after Corpus Christi. We just heard about how Christ gives us his body and blood for nourishment, how it is the flesh for the life of the world. Now, it is our turn to share that life with everyone else.
PRAY
Dear Lord,
Thank you for the gift of the Eucharist and thank you for giving me the opportunity to spread your kingdom here on earth. This is the most valuable, most meaningful mission someone can be given. Help me to never tire of it. Help me to never grow weary of trying to bring souls to you. What we offer them, thanks to you, is eternal life in the kingdom of God. What a wonderful offer. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.
LISTEN
We can discover new truths in every Gospel passage, every time we read it, if we listen closely enough. This time I see that Jesus is saying the Kingdom of Heaven is all around us. It’s right here on earth, and when we die we will simply continue to live in it. On the other hand, when we do not listen to God, we can easily lose hope and fail to see the Kingdom of Heaven all around us. I’m sure we’ve all experienced moments when we felt like this life and this world is all there is. Let’s write that off to the feebleness of our minds, not that vanity of existence; because existence is not vain if we can see God’s kingdom and intent for it all. We can then see eternity and infinity, and all the opportunities they present to us in this present moment, God’s gift to us.
Kilby is a freelance writer from New Jersey and managing editor of Catholic World Report. He received his undergrad degree in humanities and Catholic culture from the Franciscan University of Steubenville. In addition to working with the Knights of the Holy Eucharist (knights.org), he has served as a journalist for Princeton Packet Publications, and the Trenton Monitor, the magazine for the Diocese of Trenton. Some of his published work can also be found in St. Anthony Messenger, Catholic Herald (UK), and Catholic World Report. For the latter he is managing editor. Find more of his writing at ramblingspirit.com.
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