Compassion in action

Fr Paul reads today from the Gospel of Matthew (9: 35 and 10:1, 6-8) in which Jesus tells his disciples that the harvest is rich, but the labourers are few.

Time after time, Jesus’s heart goes out to the unfortunate and distressed, the despised, the outcast just as we see in today’s Gospel.

Fr Paul says, Jesus is fulfilling the prophecies about him by sending out the disciples urgently to proclaim the good news by curing the sick, cleansing lepers and driving out demons.  These actions of the disciples are the symbols of the conquest of evil and distress.

It was Jesus who gave the disciples power and authority to do this and it gives us confidence that Jesus has a particular and strong relationship with God the Father.

As our Advent journey continues, we, too, are challenged to share the good news about Jesus to others, just as the disciples did in today’s Gospel.