Saturday – First Week of Advent      

Gospel – Matthew 9: 35-10:1, 5A,6-8

Have A Heart!

Blest Arts Workshop, Bethlehem

Just like every parish across the country, we have a number of Christmas Drives going on this holiday season at St. Joseph’s in Norris, TN. Maybe it’s collecting coats, blankets, and shampoo for the Clothing Closet, creating holiday cards or gathering calendars for the local Rehab Center! Maybe you’re collecting toys or games, maybe it’s clothing or personal hygiene items.  Either way, we are all hopefully in a ‘donating’ spirit!    And every year, we all probably wonder -   will we collect enough?  Will people be generous?   My hope is that everyone takes the time and effort to go out and buy a toy or board game or a basketball or donate to a worthy cause, anything to put a smile on the face of a needy child.  I know that whatever we collect will be a blessing!

But it’s not just about the physical effort involved or the time spent on making a Christmas Drive successful.  More importantly, it’s about our motivation.  It’s about recognizing the needs of those less fortunate and responding to them, particularly at a time when more people are homeless, more are hungry and many are struggling to put food on the table or pay medical bills.  It’s about compassion not just for the adults but especially for their children!

And that is what we hear in today’s Gospel.  Yes, Jesus does send out the disciples on a mission – to preach, to teach and to heal.  Yes, He does share with us that line about “the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.”  But all of that happens AFTER He sees the crowd and is moved with pity.  All of that happens AFTER He sees that they are troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd.  And He responds with compassion!

And that is the mission that Jesus is calling all of us to follow!  To preach, to teach!  But most importantly TO CARE!  To tend to the lost sheep by responding to their needs with compassion and love!  Let’s all keep that in mind and in practice during this season of joy and giving!

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