Fr Paul reads the Gospel from Matthew (9: 35-10: 1, 6-8), in which Jesus tells the disciples that ‘the harvest is rich but the labourers are few’ and ‘you received without charge, give without charge’. Fr Paul says in the Gospel today, Jesus fulfills the prophetic promises by sending out the disciples urgently to proclaim the Good News of kingdom by curing the sick, cleansing the lepers, and driving our demons. These actions of the disciples are the symbols of the conquest of evil and distress. Time and time again, Jesus’s heart goes out to the unfortunate and the distressed, the despised and the outcast. He insists that his followers adhere to these same standards of caring for the poor, the sick, and the afflicted. The joy of the followers of Jesus is found in the confidence and in the firmness of their relationship to God. As this first Advent week draws to a close, Fr Paul invites us to reflect on this question, ‘How confident, how firm, is my relationship with God?’