Theme

Eleventh Sunday of the Year *15^thJune 2008*
Theme :	*‘Called to compassion and love’*
1st. Reading:	Exodus 19: 2-6
2nd Reading:	Romans 5: 6-11
Gospel :	Matthew 9:36 -10:8

Dear Friend,

We all have had, sometime or another, the experience of being chosen, of being selected for a task, for an assignment, for a job. We feel good about being chosen and believe we are chosen because of our capabilities, talents and special expertise. We sometimes tend to believe that we are better than others and we might well be. Unlike human choices, God’s choice of human beings for a special calling is different. He calls us, and chooses us not because we are specially gifted but because but because he loves us and can do something with us and through us. In particular, we are called to be compassionate and loving like him! Have an enjoyable weekend relishing God’s choice of you!

Fr. Jude Botelho

This first reading from Exodus recalls the promise of the Covenant made by Yahweh with the people of Israel on their arrival at Mt. Sinai. Until the covenant the Israelites were a loose gathering of the tribes of Israel but Yahweh binds them into one people, his people. He will be their God and they will be his people. The initiative of this covenant is solely Yahweh’s. Both parties of the covenant are expected to keep the covenant. Today’s reading reminds the people that if they keep the Law of Moses and observe the commandments of the law they will be blessed and will prosper. “You will be of all people my very own and I will count you as a kingdom of priests, a consecrated nation.” The choice of Israel did not exclude other peoples, but it would be through Israel that they would to receive many blessings.

Two Brothers
Two brothers worked together on the family farm. One was married and had a large family. The other was single. At the day’s end, the brothers shared everything equally, produce and profit. Then one day the single brother said to himself, “It is not right that we should share equally the produce and profit. I am alone and my needs are simple.” So each night he took a sack of grain from his bin and crept across the field between their houses, dumping it into his brother’s bin. Meanwhile, the married brother said to himself, “It’s not right that we should share the produce and the profit equally. After all, I’m married and have my wife and children to look after me in years to come. My brother has no one, and no one to take care of his future.” So each night he took a sack of grain and dumped it into his single brother’s bin. Both men were puzzled for years because their supply of grain never dwindled. Then one night the two brothers bumped into each. Slowly it dawned on them what was happening. They dropped their sacks and embraced one another.
Author Unknown from ‘More Sower’s Seeds by Brian Cavanaugh’

In the reading from St. Paul’s letter to the Romans, Paul tells his readers that God showed his great love and compassion for us by the fact that Christ died for us while we were still sinners. Paul says it is not easy to die even for a good person. How difficult then to die for a bad person. To be loved in one’s goodness is no big deal. It’s no more than one deserves. But to be loved in one’s badness is a wonderful experience. The task of a Christian is not to win God’s love but to respond to it. And the best kind of response is to love people in their faults and sins. Our task is a simple one: to show the compassion of God towards others.

Loved unconditionally
Peter is a very loveable man. Now in his sixties, he is amiable, good humoured, kind and generous. He doesn’t draw attention to himself. He is just a wonderful presence. Smiling and laughing, talking and mixing, he puts people at ease. His one and only aim seems to be that of helping others. He has no thought for himself. But he wasn’t always like that. A few years ago he was almost the exact opposite. He was an alcoholic and his presence was an embarrassment to his family. He was drunk from early in the day. He seems to be interested in nobody but himself. He was incapable of helping anybody. People avoided him or talked with him as little as possible. To make matters worse he could be nasty when he was drunk. It is easy to love him now that his life has turned around but it wasn’t easy in those old days when he was still drinking. In truth, it was almost impossible. Yet, all through those dark years of his drinking, his wife and family continued to love him. It was their love and concern for him that eventually enabled him to face his problem and go and look for help. It was their love that brought him around.
Flor McCarthy in ‘New Sunday and Holy Day Liturgies’

In today’s gospel we see Jesus’ compassion towards his disciples, followers, and all the people. The religious leaders of his time had nothing to offer the ordinary people in their suffering –neither guidance, nor comfort, nor strength. In fact they didn’t care for them. But Jesus was different from the religious leaders of his day. He cared and was deeply moved by the plight of the people. When he looked at ordinary people he didn’t see a crowd but a collection of individuals, with their needs and worries and concerns. And far from despising them, he had compassion on them, precisely because they were wounded and in need. He freely mixed with them and gave himself to them first of all. But then knowing how great the harvest was, he decided to recruit helpers. Today’s gospel reminds us that from his helpers he chose twelve to be his friends and companions in a special way. They were from different backgrounds, and none of them was trained. Each had his own character, foibles, weaknesses and strengths. There were tensions and rivalries between them. Jesus loved his apostles and they in turn loved him. He trained them, not in a formal way but by living with them, walking with them, and being a model for them. They learned to do things as he did them. Then he sent them out to others. They knew what their mission was: to be agents of his compassion to others. They were to show the compassionate face of the Father to all peoples, especially the poor and suffering. Today Jesus depends on us. To be his apostles it is not necessary to be an exceptional person but it is necessary to let Jesus do exceptional things through us.

What one needs is the willingness to let God work in us and through us, to let him touch our hearts so that we become compassionate people like him. The apostles had obvious faults and weaknesses. Jesus chose just twelve ordinary people. But Jesus saw goodness in each of them, even in Judas. Choice is a privilege and an honour, but it is also a responsibility. The apostles were chosen for a task, -to help Jesus with the harvest. And through baptism, we too are chosen. Though the harvest is immense, there is no need to be discouraged. We can’t do everything but we can do something.

Jordan Management Consultants report….
“It is the opinion of the staff that most of your nominees are lacking in background, education and vocational aptitude for the type of enterprise you are undertaking. Besides, they do not have the team concept. We have found ample evidence of jealousy and rivalry among them. Simon Peter is emotionally unstable and given to fits of temper –definitely not the man you would want to head your organization. Andrew has absolutely no qualities of leadership. He is just a follower. The two brothers, James and John are too hot-headed. Besides, they place personal interest above company loyalty. Thomas demonstrates a questioning attitude that would undermine morale. Matthew the tax collector is undoubtedly a man of ability but would project the wrong image for an organization as yours. James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus have radical leanings, hence, their unsuitability. There is one of the candidates, however, who has shows great potential. He is a man of ability and resourcefulness, good with people, has a keen business mind, and has contacts in high places. He is highly motivated, ambitious and responsible. That man is Judas Iscariot. We recommend him as your controller and right hand man.”
Anonymous

Film –The Fisher King (1991)
This excellent movie is an exploration of the way in which the central character, a shock-jock radio host, seeks for forgiveness, having unwittingly incited a man to commit a massacre in a restaurant. He meets someone who has suffered a breakdown as a result of witnessing the massacre and tries in all sorts of ways to free himself of his own sense of guilt. The man he has met (played by Robin Williams) is convinced that the DJ has been sent to bring him a silver cup (actually a sporting trophy), which he thinks is the Holy Grail. The Robin Williams character repeatedly calls him to this task, but he dismisses it as ridiculous. Finally, though, when Robin Williams falls into a catatonic state, he realizes that, simply because he needs the 'grail' to get better he will retrieve it. It strikes me as relevant to the theme of 'call' because of the way in which it is circumstance which compels him, eventually, to do something only he can do. The act he is called to is ridiculous, but it is the doing of it which is really important. In fulfilling his 'call', by doing something out of simple love, he not only heals someone else, but finds the freedom he has been seeking for himself.
Anonymous

But you didn’t
I looked at you and smiled the other day

I thought you’d see me but you didn’t

I said “I love you” and waited for what you would say

I thought you’d heard me but you didn’t

I asked you to come outside and play ball with me

I thought you’d follow but you didn’t

I drew a picture just for you to see

I thought you’d save it but you didn’t

I made a fort for us back in the woods

I thought you’d camp with me but you didn’t

I found some worms’n such for fishing if we could

I thought you’d want to go but you didn’t

I needed you just to talk to, my thoughts to share

I thought you’d want to but you didn’t

I told you about the game hoping you’d be there

I thought you’d surely come but you didn’t

I asked you to share my youth with me

I thought you’d want to but you couldn’t

My country called me to war, you asked me to come home safely

But I didn’t.
Stan Gebhardt in “A 2nd Helping of Chicken Soup for the Soul”

May we grow in compassion and care for others like Jesus!

Fr. Jude Botelho
judebotelho@niscort.com

P.S. :The stories, incidents and anecdotes used in the reflections have been collected over the years from books as well as from sources over the net and from e-mails received. Every effort is made to acknowledge authors whenever possible. If you send in stories or illustrations I would be grateful if you could quote the source as well so that they can be acknowledged if used in these reflections. I would be happy if you could link this website to your own parish/diocesan/institutional website. If you wish to receive these reflections by e-mail, or send them to a friend, do send in the e-mail address to <jude@netforlife.plus.com>

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