Fresh Dew Media

 11^th Sunday, Year A: Homily by Fr Isaac Chima

Theme: Commissioned to Heal the Broken World

Readings: Ex 19:2–6a; Rom 5:6–11; Mt 9:36—10:8

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today the Church reminds us that God has called each of us by name and has entrusted us with the mission of healing our broken world with the Good News of Christ. Through our baptism, God chose us to be a kingdom of priests so that, through us, the world may come to know Him, be saved from evil, and be healed of every infirmity.

Today’s Gospel reading presents the real condition of the world at the time Jesus encountered it, and it reveals why He chose and commissioned us for this mission. It says: “When Jesus saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” These words also describe the situation of our world today. We live in a world devastated by social, economic, and political crises—problems that have produced broken families, joblessness, hunger, sickness, mass migration, and countless other painful realities. These difficulties make it hard for many to trust again in God’s providence and love. Because of the weight of these problems, many people feel helpless, weak, and abandoned by both God and man. The different shapes of our struggles are written boldly on our faces and on the faces of our friends.

Yet, dear friends, the Gospel reminds us that the loving and compassionate heart of Jesus still beats for suffering humanity. God still thinks of each of us in our various trials. This passage shows us one of the steps Jesus took to lift humanity out of the dungeon of sin and suffering. To save the lost sheep of Israel—those harassed, helpless, and without a shepherd—Jesus chose twelve men, called them by name, and sent them out to heal every disease and infirmity, to cast out demons, to raise the dead, and to proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Their mission was to begin with their own people. He also invited them to pray continually that good shepherds would never be lacking in God’s vineyard.

In the second reading, St Paul reminds us that Jesus met us while we were still sinners and helpless. He picked us up, washed us clean with His blood, and reconciled us with the Father. Therefore, like the apostles in the Gospel, on the day of our baptism—when Jesus cleansed us from sin with the baptismal waters of rebirth—He chose us, called us by name, and sent us into the world: to our families, our friends, our colleagues, and our communities, to be sources of help for all who suffer from physical or spiritual burdens, and to announce to them the Good News of God’s kingdom.

Dear friends, Jesus has commissioned us to be bearers of good news to those whose lives have been marked by painful experiences, beginning with our own families and friends. He has chosen us to console those battered by social and economic hardship—by hunger, poverty, and unstable relationships. He has commissioned us to restore peace to families and friends living in conflict, to bring healing to hearts wounded by years of violence, and to rekindle love in those who believe love no longer exists. He has sent us to restore hope to those who have lost hope in life and in God, those who think the only solution is to give up entirely. Jesus has commissioned us to be instruments of healing for broken hearts. He sends us to announce His love to friends who have abandoned their faith, to tell them that God still loves them and cares for them. The Lord of the harvest invites us to help make the world a better place and to lift people out of suffering.

In the first reading, God made a similar choice of the people of Israel. He chose them to be His own people and to represent Him among the pagan nations surrounding them. To those nations, Israel was to be a bearer of God’s light. They were to live holy lives and become a kingdom of priests. In the same way, God has chosen us from among our brothers, sisters, and friends—many of whom no longer believe in the Good News—to be bearers of light, hope, and goodness in society. We can accomplish this mission only if we live according to God’s will.

Let us pray in today’s Mass for the grace to live up to this mission entrusted to us by God.

Rev. Fr. Isaac Chinemerem Chima