Dig Deeper into Sunday’s Gospel: Read Matthew 9:36–10:8

Friends, let me introduce you to my parents. All my life, my mom and dad have witnessed to me what a life on mission looks like and set the example for me to follow. In addition to the mission of our home—loving and raising their family with intentionality and focus, they both heard God’s call to serve the needs of others in ways that have had an eternal impact. 

In the midst of running a busy household and raising three (may I say, exceptional) children, my mom spent a large part of her life directing religious and musical education for children in our church, organizing outreach programming for children on the margins in our community, and coordinating a food pantry that served hundreds of families in our city. A classically trained musician, she stepped into areas of need and glimpsed Christ to the people that she served. 

My dad has spent the last twenty years directing mission trips to a small, rural village in the Democratic Republic of Congo called Mulungwishi. What started as hearing from a friend about a village that was desperately in need of help has turned into a mission to support and build infrastructure in this community. A lawyer by trade, my dad has spent countless hours building relationships, fundraising, enlisting help, and learning French so he could translate. Every year, he coordinates a team of architects, engineers, doctors, and nurses to aid in the development of this village in incredible ways: building access to fresh water, building a school equipped with electronic e-readers because paper books are not accessible in the climate, bolstering a clinic with trained doctors and nurses, and providing hundreds of thousands of prenatal vitamin packs for pregnant women. Even though his education is in trial law, he saw the needs of the people around him, heard Jesus calling him, and he stepped out on mission. 

Unqualified but Called

In this weekend’s gospel reading, we see Jesus call His disciples out by name and send them on mission. This was no ordinary mission that He was sending them on. The disciples were called out and sent to do incredible things: cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, and drive out demons. Did they have training or experience in what was being asked of them? Definitely not. I imagine that the disciples felt wholly unqualified for the mission that Jesus was calling them to. 

Have you ever had that feeling of being unqualified for what is being asked of you? If I were in the room with the disciples, I may have responded with something like, “Thank you for considering me, but that is not for me.” Isn’t this our response sometimes? We see the mission before us and think, that is for someone else. It is that moment at the meeting when they ask for volunteers, and you do everything you can to avoid making eye contact with the organizer. We disqualify ourselves and count ourselves out of the mission that God is calling us to, preferring instead to stay in the place where we feel comfortable.

But when Jesus sent the disciples on mission, He wasn’t just hoping that they would be qualified for the mission He was giving them. He knew the disciples personally; they were His dearest friends. He knew their strengths and weaknesses. He knew their limitations and their stumbling blocks. He sent them anyway, because He knew what He could do through them. Jesus didn’t call them because they were qualified; He just needed them to trust Him with open hearts so that He could equip them.

As the disciples were faithful to Jesus’ call, they performed signs and wonders. They cured the sick and drove out demons. They were able to accomplish seemingly impossible, supernatural work because they trusted Jesus to do what He had promised. It was not in their strength that they accomplished this supernatural work; it was in the name of Jesus.

The Harvest at Your Doorstep

Friends, just as Jesus called His disciples on mission, He calls us, too. We are His Church; His hands and His feet in a broken world. The mission is not a faraway concept reserved for a select few. The mission is for us. It is no accident or coincidence that you are in the exact place where you find yourself. God has intentionally woven you into your specific family, community, workplace, and parish for a distinct purpose. 

Sometimes the mission looks like crossing oceans to serve the marginalized, but more often, it looks like crossing the street. It looks like leaning into the holy chaos of the domestic church in our homes, walking alongside someone in their struggle, volunteering at our parishes, or stepping into the hidden gaps of our local communities. But friend, make no mistake: Jesus has a specific mission that He has entrusted to you. Jesus said to His disciples, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few” (Matthew 9:37). There is a harvest at your doorstep, and Jesus is calling you to be a laborer.

Before Jesus sent the disciples to step out, He first encountered their hearts and embraced a relationship with them. Our mission must flow from that same place of deep relationship. Jesus first calls us to rest in His love, and then He commands us to give it away. He doesn’t want us to sit in the comfort of merely receiving grace; He invites us to get uncomfortable, to stretch our hearts, and to love sacrificially.

The same power that Jesus worked through the disciples to heal is the same power that lives in us today. He doesn’t ask for perfection, and He does not require you to feel fully qualified. He simply asks for your yes. 

With you on the mission,
Laura

Food for thought or journaling … 

Where in my life am I avoiding eye contact with Jesus because I feel unqualified for what He is asking of me?

Take a moment and consider what is going on around you. What are the needs of the people that Jesus has placed in your path? What is an area of need that you can step into to serve? 

Jesus, grant me the clarity to see the harvest on my doorstep.
Jesus, grant me the grace to open my heart to You just a little bit more.
Jesus, grant me the courage to say yes to the mission You are entrusting to me. Amen.

P.S. Maybe God is calling you to cultivate a community of women in your parish. Check out the free webinar I cohost: Learn about Walking with Purpose. It could be the mission God is calling you to undertake.