Have ever noticed that when someone is hurting, our first instinct is often to say, “I’ll pray for you.” That is a great response. Prayer matters. Prayer changes us. Prayer places our loved ones into God’s hands.
In today’s Gospel Jesus tells his disciples to do exactly that. Looking at the crowds, he says, “The harvest is abundant, but the laborers are few, so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.”
The people Jesus sees are exhausted, wounded, discouraged, and lost. Matthew says they were “troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd.” Jesus sees beneath their surface appearances. He sees their fears, their loneliness, their grief, their illness, and their struggles.
Not much has changed. If Jesus walked throughout our village today, what would he see? He would see families facing a variety of burdens - some dealing with illness. Others are grieving a loved one. Some struggle with loneliness, anxiety, financial worries, broken relationships, or uncertainty about the future.
And just as he did two thousand years ago, Jesus would be moved with compassion. The Gospel tells us that compassion is not simply feeling sorry for someone. Compassion moves us to action. Jesus tells the disciples to pray for laborers, but before the echo of their “Amen” has faded, Jesus sends them out into the harvest. The very people who prayed for help become the help God sends. They become the answer to their own prayer.
And that is often how God works. We pray for the hungry, and God asks us to share our bread. We pray for the lonely, and God asks us to make a phone call. We pray for peace, and God asks us to forgive. We pray for vocations, and God asks young people to respond. We pray for the suffering, and God asks us to be present to them.
There is a story about a little girl whose elderly neighbor had just lost his wife. Seeing him sitting alone on his porch, she walked over, climbed onto his lap, and simply sat there. When she came home her mother asked, “What did you say to him?” The little girl replied, “Nothing. I just helped him cry.”
That is often what compassion looks like. We do not always have the answers. We cannot fix every problem. But we can be present. We can listen. We can care. We can help someone carry a burden.
The word “compassion” means “to suffer with.” Jesus suffered with the people he encountered. He asks us to do the same. The Kingdom of God comes near whenever we enter another person’s pain with love and mercy. In a few moments we will pray the prayer Jesus taught us: “Thy Kingdom come.” The Kingdom of God comes near whenever someone chooses compassion over indifference, kindness over judgement, service over selfishness.
As we gather around this altar today, perhaps each of us should ask: Where is God calling me to be a laborer for the harvest? Who in my family, neighborhood, parish, or workplace needs a word of encouragement, a helping hand, a listening ear, a phone call, or a prayer?
The harvest is still abundant. The world still longs for hope. And Christ is still sending disciples. May we not only pray for laborers. May we have the courage to answer Christ’s call and become the hands, feet, and heart of Jesus for a world that longs for hope. Amen.