Love that sees and sends

Sunday 14 June 2026

Lectio Divina:*

Exodus 19:2-6 Psalm 100

Romans 5:6-11 Matthew 9:36-10:8   A picture in the Church of the Monastery of St Francis in Zadar city, Croatia

Meditatio:

‘..When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd’  (Matthew 9:36)

 

Commentary:

The setting of the story is Galilee where, in Matthew’s plan, Jesus’ teaching, healing, and preaching begin to establish the pattern for those who are called. Chapter 10 opens with the calling of those whom Matthew refers to as the Apostles (that is, ‘those sent’).

We need to be mindful of the context in which the very early Church developed. It was not a tightly-knit, canonically well-ordered structure with clearly defined roles and ministries. Rather, it was an evolving communion, spread across the lands of the eastern Mediterranean, gradually moving out from the holy land and flourishing under fierce opposition. It first took root mainly among the Jewish people and then increasingly among the Gentiles.

In the first reading from the Book of Exodus, the people are reminded of something easily forgotten:

I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.

Before there was covenant or law, there was initiative. God sees; God acts; God carries. The relationship begins with grace. The image is a precious one: God not only delivers, but lifts, protects, and draws his people into close relationship.

Psalm 100 echoes the same truth in familiar language:

Know that the Lord is God. It is he that made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture (v.3).

We belong before we achieve. In other words, we are claimed before we prove ourselves.

In the second reading, Saint Paul, in his Letter to the Romans, takes this further still. God’s love is not a response to goodness; it precedes it entirely:

God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.

That love is not abstract. It is poured out, given freely, even when unearned. Indeed, Paul speaks of God’s love being ‘poured into our hearts’ (Romans 5:5), suggesting not something distant, but something deeply personal and interior.

When we hear that language - love poured into the heart - we are reminded of that fountain of love: the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which whose feast day we marked last Friday. The love of God is not just an idea but a reality - burning, wounded, and poured out. The heart of Christ, aflame and pierced, is the sign of a love that holds nothing back. It represents both his humanity and his divine compassion, a love that enters fully into the suffering of the world.

In the Gospel, that same love becomes visible in a moment that is easily passed over. Jesus looks at the crowds - not from a distance, but with attention –

and he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd (v. 36)

 Jesus, in his heart, sees clearly, feels deeply and is moved to act. From compassion comes action and mission. He invites us now into that same mission:

The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest (v. 38)

The people carried on eagles’ wings become a ‘kingdom of priests’; the sheep of the pasture become those who help gather others; and those who have received mercy become those who extend it.

The call to pray for more ‘labourers’ because the ‘harvest is plentiful’ is not to be interpreted narrowly, as though only ordained ministers or consecrated religious are called and sent to announce or live the Gospel. Yes, we need to pray for that too.  After all, no priests, no Eucharist or sacramental  absolution.

Every baptised Christian is called to live out their vocation fully and to witness to the love of God wherever they are. And if people speak out and act boldly in defence of racial justice at this time, we should not hesitate to speak out and act boldly in defence of all human rights. In doing so, we bear witness to Christ as the first disciples did.

  

Some extras:

Collect prayer (Roman Catholic missal of 1970)

God our Father, we rejoice in the faith that draws us together, aware that selfishness can drive us apart.  Let your encouragement be our constant strength. Keep us one in the love that has sealed our lives, help us to live as one family the gospel we profess. We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Post-Communion prayer (Roman Catholic missal of 1970)

Lord may this eucharist accomplish in our Church the unity and peace it signifies. Grant this through Christ our Lord.

Private prayer after Holy Communion

(from The Family Missal and Prayer Book of the Church of the Holy Spirit, Ballyroan, Dublin, 1976)

Lord Jesus, Good Shepherd, you felt sorry for the people who were harassed and dejected.  Master of the apostles, you have sent labourers into the harvest to bring your healing grace to men; and the harvest has been rich. Lord of the harvest send labourers today to continue your work among men so that all the children of God may be reconciled.