The Word God Spells

Matthew 9: 32-38
Gn 32:23-33 / Psa 17

The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.
(Matthew 9:38)

The grains in the fields are golden,
The grapes are heavy on the vine,
The chains of sin will be broken
To save the world by God’s design.

As they were going away, behold, a dumb demoniac was brought to Jesus. And when the demon had been cast out, the dumb man spoke; and the crowds marveled, saying, “Never was anything like this seen in Israel.” But the Pharisees said, “He casts out demons by the prince of demons.” And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every infirmity. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

Reflection

Pope John Paul II once wrote: “Because the needs of the ‘harvest’ are so great, all the members of God’s people must grow in the awareness of ‘being called.’” To grow in awareness involves: 1) praying to God for more vocations to the priesthood, and 2) doing our share in bringing others to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

The power of prayer was manifested in the greatest transformation before the turn of the millennium. In his great devotion to Mary, the Mother of Jesus, Pope John Paul II had asked the faithful all over the world to pray for her intercession in the conversion of Russia. In the years that followed, the world witnessed the dissolution of the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), as its satellite countries began to break away to seek their own independent government. Thus the ‘cold war’ finally ended, and the conversion of Russia began. But this was just one battle won.

Jesus’ call to prayer “to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest” has become even more urgent in today’s secular age of distraction and modernism because of the dwindling number of priestly vocations, and the growing number of ‘demons’ that need to be ‘cast out’ of society. In the international stage, we are threatened by the growing militancy of Islamic fundamentalists. In the national scene, we are weighed down by corruption and the decline of our moral standards. Thus, all we can do is pray more, individually and as a community, and do our share in making a difference, however small, in our own locality by being a light for others (Mt.5:16). No one is exempted from God’s call to spread His Good News of salvation in Jesus Christ. Before our Lord ascended into heaven, His last admonition was “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” (Mk. 16:15).

In a small way, we are fulfilling Christ’s mandate in our Brotherhood’s ongoing Christian Life Program #19, with 21 participants joining the fold. Hopefully, they also will be inspired by the Holy Spirit to finish this 9-week immersion program, and take an active role in evangelizing the marketplace as full-fledged members of BCBP.

Lord, may zeal for Your house consume us (Psalm 69:10), so that we may never tire in winning more souls for Christ by bringing His values to our workplaces. Amen.