Shikrot Mpwi – Sunday Synopsis with Fr. Justine J. Dyikuk
Eleventh Sunday of the Year, A – June 18, 2023
Readings: Exodus 19:2-6 Responsorial Psalm 99:2-3,5;
Romans 5:6-11 & Gospel Matthew 9:36-10:8.
Theme: Imitating Jesus’ Compassion
Sunday Synopsis
The first reading tells how God assured the children of Israel through Moses that he carried them on eagles’ wings. In the second reading, St. Paul discloses that what proves that God loves us is that Christ died for us while we were still sinners. The gospel reveals how Jesus had compassion on the people who felt harassed and dejected. We are challenged to imitate Christ by being compassionate to the harassed and dejected while urging for policy reforms in favour of victims of abuse, migrants, and refugees.
Introduction
Friends in Christ, our liturgy underscores the need for a ministry of compassion. It speaks to the heart of charity, hospitality, and compassion for the abjectly poor and those at the margins of society. According to a March 2023 report by the World Bank, 28 million people are living in poverty globally. Another data by Amnesty International states that there are 26 million refugees in the world. Questions that readily come to mind include – Do we see these human beings as mere data? Would we leave our pews today with a commitment to act like Jesus in the gospel who had compassion on the people? Are we often moved to share in the pain and suffering of others?
The story is told of this wee boy of 7 who always carried his elder brother, aged 9 on his back while trekking to school. The brother was physically challenged – He had a hunchback. Children in the neighbourhood often laughed at the boy. On this day, as he backed his brother, one boy shouted, “What a burden you are carrying.” The innocent kid replied, “He is not a burden; he is my brother.” This leads to the theme of our reflection titled, “Imitating Jesus’ Compassion.”
Background and Summary of the Readings
The first reading (Ex 19:2-6) tells how God assured the children of Israel through Moses in the wilderness of Sinai that he carried them on eagles’ wings. The Lord further assured that if they keep his commandments, he will make of them, a kingdom of priests and a consecrated nation.
In the second reading (Romans 5:6-11), St. Paul discloses that what proves that God loves us is that Christ died for us while we were still sinners. He invites us to be reconciled with God, full of joyful trust.
The gospel (Matthew 9:36-10:8) reveals how Jesus had compassion on the people who felt harassed and dejected. As such, he insists that labourers for the harvest, who would continue the gospel enterprise, are few. He goes ahead to call the 12 with a mandate to the lost sheep of the house of Israel: “You received without charge, give without charge.
Pastoral Lessons
1. Live out your baptismal commitment: Today’s first reading reminds us that by virtue of baptism in Christ, we are a kingdom of priests and a consecrated nation called out to bear witness in a difficult and challenging world akin to the wilderness experience of the Israelites.
2. Trust in God: By carrying the sons and daughters of Israel on eagles’ wings to safety, the first and second readings urge us to develop total and joyful trust in God for our safety amid a cruel world where the persecution of Christians is rife.
3. Be reconciled to God: We are encouraged to be reconciled with God by always accessing sacramental confession, God’s tribunal of mercy and forgiveness.
4. Be compassionate: In a world of cruelty against those at the margins of society, we are challenged to imitate Christ by being compassionate to the harassed and dejected while urging for policy reforms in favour of victims of abuse, migrants, and refugees.
5. Serve humanity: All the baptised are charged to take to a discipleship which does not seek profit bearing in mind that at baptism, we “received without charge,” which mandates us to “give without charge.
Summary Lines
1. The first reading tells how God assured the children of Israel through Moses in the wilderness of Sinai that he carried them to on eagles’ wings.
2. In the second reading, St. Paul discloses that what proves that God loves us is that Christ died for us while we were still sinners.
3. He invites us to be reconciled with God, full of joyful trust.
4. The gospel reveals how Jesus had compassion on the people who felt harassed and dejected.
5. He insists that labourers for the harvest, who would continue the gospel enterprise, are few.
Conclusion
Amid the current Russian offensive against Ukraine, untold inhuman conditions of migrants across the global north, abject poverty in Africa and a parasitic ideological colonisation, today’s liturgy challenges us to imitate Christ by being compassionate to the harassed and dejected while urging for policy reforms in favour of victims of abuse, migrants, and refugees. Have a terrific week!
