The laborers and the harvest
Gospel: Mt 9:35–10:1, 5a, 6-8
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/120724.cfm
As we continue our advent journey, let’s call to mind the season that we are in. For those of us in the northern hemisphere, as we approach the winter solstice, the days continue to get shorter and shorter. The solstice, also known as yule, is the point where we transition from the days getting shorter to again getting longer. In some traditions it is considered the death of the sun as the days get shorter and its rebirth as they get longer. This is part of the reason why we celebrate Christmas around the winter solstice. We connect the arrival of Jesus with rebirth. As the days get shorter, it can have negative impacts on us such as fatigue and depression. That is another reason why we celebrate Christmas this time of year is because it gives us hope in this time of darkness.
In the past week, I went through some strong fatigue and depression. It was over a few days, but it felt like forever. As today’s gospel reads, I felt “troubled and abandoned.” I know others have experienced it far worse than me, but it was still very difficult. I felt detached from the world and hopeless, a sheep without a shepherd. We can all experience these sensations from time-to-time and to different extents. It’s part of the human condition. As we encounter others, we may not know what they are struggling with or what they have going on. Sometimes their life can seem perfectly grand, but inside, they are struggling.
When I read today’s gospel, Jesus was picking up on the struggle and suffering of the crowd. In Jesus’s time, they didn’t have a strong awareness of health and mental health. It’s taken all of human history to get us to where we are today, so imagine what it was like 2,000 years ago. They didn’t have a way to explain all the different types of illness and suffering so they often defined it as being demon possessed.
Jesus says to his disciples as he calls them to action: “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.” The gospel of Jesus is one of love. When we are in moments of suffering, we need love. As Jesus says the harvest is abundant, he is saying that the need for love is abundant. We need others to share love with us. In this passage, we are told to ask the master to send laborers, not ask the master to harvest. It is through the laborers that that master harvests. God works through us for others and works through others for us. We all need each other, and others need us.
I have often felt guilty or weak when I have needed others. It can be hard to admit that none of us can do it alone (even God needs us to carry out the harvest). Our times of need may not only be for us, but for those helping us. As others care for us, it may help them find the divine light and love in themselves; it is good to be needed and wanted and serve a purpose for others.
Let us be open about our vulnerabilities and let God’s light come from others to meet us. Amen.
