People are waiting!

Many people see the needs of others.

Far fewer are moved to respond.

In Matthew 9:35-10:8, Jesus not only sees the crowds; He is deeply moved by them, and then He calls His followers, both then and now, to share His compassion and continue His work.

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SPEAKER_00 0:43

Welcome, brothers and sisters, and peace be with you. May the words on my lips and the meditations in our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer. Amen. Several years ago, a newspaper carried the story of a young man walking home through a busy city street. Ahead of him he noticed an elderly woman standing at a pedestrian crossing. Cars rushed past, people hurried by. Everyone seemed just too busy to notice her. The young man stopped and asked if she needed help. She smiled and admitted that she was afraid to cross, because her eyesight was poor and the traffic seemed overwhelming. The young man offered his hand and carefully helped her across the road. When they reached the other side the woman thanked him, and she said hundreds of people saw me standing there. You were the only one who stopped. Hundreds saw one responded. That simple story reminds us of a truth at the very heart of today's gospel. Many people see needs. Far fewer are moved to respond. In Matthew chapter nine verses thirty five to chapter ten eight, Jesus not only sees the crowds, he is deeply moved by them, and then he calls his followers, both then and now to share his compassion and to continue his work. Matthew tells us that Jesus went through all of the towns, all of the villages, teaching in synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. Notice that Jesus didn't stay in one place. He went where the people were. He travelled dusty roads, entered villages, visited towns, and met people face to face. Christian faith has never been about remaining comfortably inside our buildings. Jesus was always moving toward people. He met them where they lived, worked, struggled and suffered. And when he looked at the crowds, he saw something that others missed. Many people saw a crowd. Jesus saw individuals. Many people saw problems. Jesus saw people. Many people saw inconvenience. Jesus saw precious children of God. In Matthew's gospel, the word translated as compassion is one of the strongest emotional words in the New Testament. It describes a deep gut level response. Jesus did not merely feel sorry for people. Their suffering touched him deeply. And that same compassionate heart of Christ still beats today. When Jesus looks upon our world, he sees the lonely, the grieving, the anxious, the forgotten, the hungry, the displaced, and those searching for meaning and hope. He invites us to see them too. Jesus then says something that has always made me pause. The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. For many years I, like perhaps so many others, focused on the shortage of workers. But notice how Jesus focuses first on the abundance of the harvest. In other words, there are countless opportunities for God's love to be shared. There are people longing for hope, people seeking purpose, people wondering if anyone cares, people asking spiritual questions, people carrying hidden burdens. These words of Jesus make me pause because the harvest is plentiful, and so the challenge is given to me. God has not run out of people to reach. The challenge is whether I am willing to go into the fields. For all of these people in waiting, Jesus calls me and every Christian to participate in God's mission. Every one of us has opportunities to reflect Christ, a kind word, a listening ear, a visit to someone who is lonely, an offer of prayer, an act of generosity, an invitation to our faith community, a simple conversation about faith. These may seem small, but in God's hands they become part of the harvest. I'm sure that you have noticed that the twelve disciples called by Jesus are not religious celebrities, not scholars, not powerful politicians, not wealthy business leaders. They are ordinary people, fishermen, tax collectors, people with their own strengths and weaknesses, people who sometimes doubted and often misunderstood. And yet Jesus chooses them. Jesus empowers them, and that should encourage each and every one of us. God's kingdom has always advanced through ordinary people who make themselves available to Him. The question is not whether we are impressive enough, the question is whether we are willing. The disciples were not sent out because they were perfect, they were sent out because they were called. The same is true today. God works through ordinary believers who trust him and step forward in faith. Perhaps the words that most people remember in today's gospel are these freely you have received. Freely give. Salvation is a gift. Hope is a gift. The love of Christ is a gift. None of us earn these blessings. We receive them freely, and because we have received freely we are called to give freely and show these gifts to others. The mission of Jesus to all of the people in waiting has not ended. It continues through his people, through you and through me. To close, let me return to the story of the elderly woman waiting at the crossing. Hundreds saw her, only one stopped. In every generation there is a plentiful harvest of people in waiting, waiting for kindness, waiting for hope, waiting for someone to notice them, waiting for someone to share the love of Christ. May we be the disciples who stop. May we be the disciples who see. May we be the disciples who respond. And may we hear anew the call of Jesus who sends us into his harvest field, where hearts full of compassion and hands are needed to serve. For freely we have received freely let us give Irunga Itengoa Oteatu te matua te tama metewaruatapu Amine.