Scripture Reflections for the Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
Year A, Lectionary 91
God cares for us. God loves us. In God's deep compassion for us God seeks to reconcile us back to God. As Apostles of Christ, we are meant to enter into that compassion for the rest of humanity. Jesus could have individually cured all the sick but God chose to do so as a community, as a Church, with the aim of being a light unto the nations. We are given authority but for God's purpose and not our own.
Hate feeling lost on Sundays at church? Searching for a better explanation of the Bible than what you hear from your pastor's sermon? Check out the following collection of audio, video, and text commentaries from various Christian experts for a better understanding of today's scripture that deal with: Apostle • Belong • Burnout • Chosen • Church • Community • Compassion • Disciple • Eagle • Fail • Formation • Freedom • Generosity • Gift • Gospel • Identity • Inclusion • Justice • Lead • Lost • Mission • Obey • Power • Priest • Relationship • Remember • Respect • Salvation • Shepherd • Sight • Trust • Unity • Vocation •
“For Matthew, the 'kingdom' is not a place we go to, but God’s reign—God taking charge. It is God acting to set things right: to heal, to forgive, to restore, and to establish justice. In Jesus, that reign is already present and at work, but not yet brought to its full completion.”
“Our Church was born because of God's compassion. Christ formed the Church to bring salvation to the world.”
“It's never a 'them' and a 'us,' it is a 'we' whom God has called to serve”
“He chose them not only because of their differences, but he chose them despite their differences. He chose them not only because of who they were, but he chose them because of whom he could turn them into and he brought them together to pass across the same Good News.”
“Jesus grants the Apostles authority and credibility to engage in his mission. Authority that does not come from domination, from command and control but from compassion”
“The divine shows us that service is best done in community”
“The world does not only need more successful people. It needs more compassionate disciples. It needs people whose hearts are moved the way Christ's heart was moved.”
“Every person you meet is somebody the Shepherd is searching for”
“Being offered these readings alongside one another challenges us to recognize that knowing we are beloved comes first before any efforts of mission, ministry or service...our attempts to care can devolve into attempts to control and this is a recipe for fatigue, resentment and conflict”
“when Jesus, who could have done all this on his own, chose instead to commission a group that would constantly get bigger over the years, that itself is a reflection of the Trinitarian life and love of the divine, right. In God self, God isn't alone. So if we image God...then we're not called to be isolationists, individualists.”
“God is willing to...do whatever it takes to protect each and every member of his chosen people. He will give us all that we need and all that he has to save us. In fact, that's what God did.”