We have a God with a Heart for us. Do we have a heart for others?

Jun 17, 2023

                Reflecting on our Sunday Readings with Fr Dr Lawrence Ng

11th Sunday of Ordinary Time (A)
Readings: Exodus 19:2-6;
Romans 5:6-11;
Gospel: Matthew 9:36 – 10:8

This Sunday’s reading assures us that God always has a heart for us, and we who live in the kindness of God’s love and mercy are called to do the same for others.

The first reading marks a special moment where the Israelites receive the revelation of the Law and entered into a covenant relationship with God. Israel is to be God’s own possession, a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. From here, we can see that God did not only bring them out of slavery but gradually enlightened and formed them.

The image given of God in the first reading is that of an eagle. The eagle is wild and fierce, swooping down swiftly on its prey. Now the speed of the eagle and the strength of its wings are metaphors for swift rescue.

The initiative is totally on the side of God, who saves us so that a covenantal relationship is possible. It will be much later before the idea of service to other nations as God’s holy people and priests appear in the Old Testament.

In the Letter to the Romans, the theme of God’s initiative and love continues. Paul tells us that while we were helpless and sinners, God reached out to us with everything, including giving His own Son. It is the image of God holding nothing back.

Paul artfully tells us that the human condition was in a state of enmity with God due to sin. However, God’s love has reconciled us. Now we are in a state of right relationship and a condition of peace. The enmity was solely on the side of sinful humans, and the wronged party was God. Nevertheless, God, the wronged party, was the one who took the initiative and acted to reconcile us through the death of his Son. We can then be assured of God’s magnanimity and joyfully trust in God. Jesus is indeed the face of God’s divine mercy.

If the first two readings already highlighted for us the love of God, the gospel drives the final point. The gospels give us a deep and profound insight into how God relates to us through Jesus. What we have in the gospel today is a God with a heart for us. We see this in how Jesus reacted to the crowds. We are told that Jesus is filled with compassion because He saw that the crowds were “harassed and dejected,” like sheep without a shepherd. Jesus described this situation as a rich harvest waiting for labourers and told His disciple to pray for the Lord to send more labourers into the harvest. Note that Jesus did not end with just a prayer request for more labourers but appointed twelve and instructed them for mission. Jesus created a body of helpers so that there would always be labourers in His harvest.

We must acknowledge that we benefited and inherited the work of the labourers initiated by Jesus about 2,000 years ago. Now we must take up the task in our own way and continue the work of the shepherd with a heart for His sheep.

Our life as Christians is different because we believe in God who is with us always. Believing activates and opens a life of grace and the experience of God’s loving-kindness for us. It helps to remember that even as Christians, we are always a work in progress. That means we are always growing and learning. On the surface, everything may appear unchanged about us, but deep within, there can be a dynamic relationship with God that is always new and ever-growing.

It does not seem fitting that this dynamic relationship with God ends with us. We are called to share this confidence we have in the loving-kindness of our God, who is always with a heart for us. In this way, we too may do our part and there would always be labourers and faces of God’s loving kindness in the vineyard.