Sunday:       Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
Date:         June 12, 2005
Year:         A
The readings: [Exo. 19:1-6; Rom. 5:6-11; Mt. 9:36-10:8]
The message:  You shall be my treasured possession.
Prepared by:  CATHOLIC DOORS MINISTRY
Total words:  1413

Click here for the Index of all the Homilies

The Lord God commanded Moses to relate to His chosen people, "You shall be my treasured possession." [Ex. 19:5] These prophetic Words of God, originally intended for the Jewish Nation, progressively developed to also include all of the Gentiles nations.

Today's readings entail the fulfillment [Rom. 5:6-11] of the promise [Ex. 19:1-6] that God made and how Christian should respond to this calling. [Mt. 9:36-10:8] God promised to make a priestly kingdom and a holy nation. [Ex. 19:6] Although differently than originally planned, such was fulfilled when we were still weak, when at the right time, Christ died for us who were ungodly. [Rom. 5:6] Having been adopted into the Body of Christ through faith in Jesus and the Sacrament of Baptism, at the moment of our Confirmation, as Jesus had sent out His twelve disciples, [Mt. 10:3] we too were sent "as true witnesses of Christ, more strictly obliged to spread and defend the faith by word and deed." (C.C.C. 1285)

Part of today's First Reading referred to the Divine Promise [Ex. 19:4-8] that came to be known as the First Covenant between God and His people. In this agreement that was made in the days of the Old Testament, on the condition that His people would abide by the Commandments, God promised that His people would become something very special. They would become His own people, God's special possession, a kingdom of priests, a holy nation.

This Covenant was never forced upon the people. The people had a free choice, to either answer their calling or to turn their backs to God by walking the worldly ways. As biblical history tells us, some of the ancestors of the Jewish nation rejected God's grace which led to a New and better Covenant between God and mankind.

"Jesus has now obtained a more excellent ministry, and to that degree he is the Mediator of a better Covenant, which has been enacted through better promises. For if that first Covenant had been faultless, there would have been no need to look for a second one. God finds fault with them when he says: 'The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will establish a new Covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah; not like the Covenant that I made with their ancestors, on the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; for they did not continue in my Covenant, and so I had no concern for them, says the Lord. This is the Covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall not teach one another or say to each other, 'Know the Lord,' for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more. In speaking of "a new Covenant," he has made the first one obsolete." [Heb. 8:6-13a]

For your information, the reference of being merciful towards iniquities and no longer remembering the sins is a reference to the Sacrament of Confession in the Holy Catholic Church that was instituted by Jesus Christ while He walked on earth.

In the new Covenant is fulfilled the promise of God's own people, His special possession, a kingdom of priests, a holy nation. In the First Letter of Peter, we read, "Come to Him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God's sight, and like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." [1 Pet. 2:4-5]

As members of the Body of Christ, admitted through faith in Jesus and the Sacrament of Baptism, all of us are members of the common priesthood, a spiritual kingdom of priests, a holy nation. Through our Baptism, we have become "a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, in order that we may proclaim the mighty acts of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvellous light. Once we were not a people, but now we are God's people; once we had not received mercy, but now we have received mercy." [1 Pet. 2:9-10]

"While we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly." [Rom. 5:6] While we were still "weak" means that we were "sinners" or "unjustified." As sinners, not only were we "weak" and "ungodly" but actually an "enemy" of God. There was nothing that any human being could have done to correct the damaged relationship that existed between God and mankind. Our reconciliation with God, from being an enemy to becoming a friend, resulted through the death of Christ. The perfect human sacrifice of the Lord Jesus resulted in our first justification, our salvation remaining to be achieved. Through the death of Christ, the door to salvation was opened to us. Our entry into the Body of Christ through faith in Jesus and the Sacrament of Baptism was our first step on the path to justification. Each time that someone participates in the Sacrament of Confession during his life, he takes another step towards his salvation. Through perseverance in righteousness, in the end, one receives the gift of salvation. As was stated by Saint Paul in today's reading, surely now that we have been justified by the Blood of Jesus, we will be saved through Him from the wrath of God. [Rom. 5:9]

Today's Gospel Reading, [Mt. 9:36-10:8] the sending of the 12 disciples, is the big "WHAT NOW?" that concludes the first two readings. We have received the promise of God. We have faith in Christ. We have been baptized. We have been justified. We have been admitted into the Body of Christ, the spiritual Kingdom of God. We have continuously received the Sacrament of Confession to maintain our righteousness. And we have participated in the celebration of the Holy Mass on a weekly basis to receive the Bread of Life, the Real Presence of Jesus. What now? Now we must allow the Holy Spirit to flow freely through us. We must allow the Holy Spirit to manifest good works through us by the grace of God. How do we do that? It is by answering our call to go forward and spread the Good News as members of the common priesthood.

Some may feel that this is difficult to do while being alone. Is there a necessity to do it alone? If you paid attention to today's Gospel Reading, the names of the Apostles were mentioned in pairs. First there was Simon and his brother Andrew. Then there was James and his brother John. Then, Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew, James and Thaddaeus. Finally, there was James, the son of Alphaeus and Judas Iscariot. The pairing of the names of the disciples implies that they were sent in pairs to ministers to others. Surely, in pairs, all of us can find the courage and strength to minister in the name of the Lord Jesus. Mothers and fathers can minister to their children. Brothers and sisters can minister together to others. Workers can minister together to other workers. By applying the buddy system, Christians can set up a strategy for spreading the Good News and do it together.

As Jesus said, "The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few." [Mt. 9:37] We have been called to be treasured possessions of the Lord God. To maintain our status of "child of God," we must not be ashamed to go forward and do the Lord's work among our family, our relatives, our peers, our friends, our neighbours, and even our co-workers. In truth, it is not us who does the good works but rather the Holy Spirit who is manifesting the grace of God through us as humble subjects of Divine love towards others.

This week, as Christians who belong to the Body of Christ, let us reflect on our priestly obligation to minister to others. Let us take the time to make a firm commitment to begin to do the Lord's work. May the grace of God ignite a burning flame of servitude within each and everyone of you so that you may be counted among the much needed labourers.

* * * * * * * * * *

The readings...

[The readings were taken from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible (C) 1989 Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Church of Christ in the United States of America.]

* * * * * * * * * *

First Reading...

"On the third month after the Israelites had gone out of the land of Egypt they came to the wilderness of Sinai.

They had journeyed from Rephidim, entered the wilderness of Sinai, and camped in the wilderness; Israel camped there in front of the mountain.

Then Moses went up to God; the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, "Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the Israelites: 'You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession out of all the peoples. Indeed, the whole earth is mine, but you shall be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation.'

These are the words that you shall speak to the Isrealites." [Ex. 19:1-6]

* * * * * * * * * *

Second Reading...

"While we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person. Though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us. Much more surely then, now that we have been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath of God.

For if while we were enemies, we were reconcilced to God through the death of his Son, much more surely, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life. But more than that, we even boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation." [Rom. 5:6-11]

* * * * * * * * * *

Gospel Reading...

"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 labourers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the hearest to send out labourers into the harvest.'

Then Jesus summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness. These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon, also known as Peter, and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax colletor; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot and Judas Escariot, the one who betrayed him.

These twleve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: "Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, proclaim the good news, 'The kingdom of heaven has come near.' Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment.'" [Mt. 9:36-10:8]

* * * * * * * * * *