11th Sunday

June 14, 2026

Matthew 9:36-10:8

We have recently completed the liturgical cycle that takes us from Holy week, through Easter, Ascension, Pentecost, Trinity Sunday, and finally, the Body and Blood of Christ, commemorating the abiding presence of Jesus in our midst until he comes again. And yet, with the readings for this 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time, year A, we are back at the beginning off Jesus’ ministry to bring redemption to the human race and to each of us individually. And not only redemption, but a call to make us a part of God’s efforts for us to join him in his mission of love.

In the first reading from Exodus, God is calling to us to pay attention to him, almost pleading with us to pay attention to him if for no other reason than for what he has done for us, “I bore you up on eagles wings and brought you here to myself.” We can see here, not a God of vengeance, but a God who wants us to be with him in a loving relationship, even a permanent relationship “to be my special possession, dearer to me than all other people.” All we have to do is follow his covenant,” and have a mutual kinship with him.

St. Paul tells us that while we were still helpless and sinners, “Christ died for us...[by which] God proves his love for us.” With the coming of Jesus among us, God’s kinship is made even more concrete. St. Paul tells the Romans that God has gone beyond all limits in loving them. This is certainly a contrast between our unworthiness and God’s incredible generosity that is almost beyond belief. Paul makes clear that Jesus served and taught and healed and died for those who were sinners because they were God’s people, God’s special ones, the holy nation, the ones set apart. As Jesus walked the streets and taught the crowds, he saw in each of them a son or daughter of God; each to be loved themselves, and invited into God’s loving mission for us. Being part of God’s loving relationship in the Trinity and with us, is indeed life-changing for each of us.

Every person who has begun his mission from sinner to saint has had a real, personal confrontation with Christ. It may have come in different ways, but it always takes place. For Paul it happened on the Damascus Road. For Augustine it was a voice. While meditating in his garden, he heard the words, “take and read.” He went to an open Bible and read,“Put on the Lord Jesus Christ …”,and Christ became a reality to him. St. Francis met Christ at a wayside shrine where as he was looking at a crucifix; he heard Christ say, “Build My House, for it is falling down!” No matter how early or late in our life, at some point God touches us like the God who carries us on eagles wings or sees us troubled and abandoned. It may not be as grand as saving us from the Egyptians, or personally calling us to be shepherds by a vision, but it eventually comes to us, perhaps in a seemingly mundane way.

And finally in Matthew’s Gospel, “Jesus heart was moved with pity...the crowd [was] troubled and abandoned.” Jesus has “compassion” on the “crowds” in their leaderless state, “like sheep without a shepherd”; he has announced that the completion of God’s plan, his “harvest,” to return all to godliness, is about to begin. Now he instructs and commissions his disciples. Like God spoke to the Isaelites in Exodus, God has moved toward us, and perhaps more importantly has loved us. We are lovable and good because God loves us and has chosen us as Jesus chose his apostles. Since Jesus loves the leaderless people, he chooses and sends the twelve apostles to awaken the people. In fact Jesus chooses us today to move toward him, in his Father, through the Holy Spirit. This calls us to be awakened, not only to the call to discipleship, but into the relationship that God call us; a relationship of loving him and being part of him.

Coy Wylie noted this story in his book: “A young mother was taking a course in sociology. The class was assigned to go out and smile at three people and document their reaction. The next day she and her family were in a McDonald’s on a cold, clear morning. She writes, “We were standing in line, waiting to be served, when all of a sudden everyone around us began to back away, and then even my husband did. I did not move an inch. As I turned around, I smelled a horrible ‘dirty body’ smell, and there standing behind me were two poor, homeless men. One of them smiled up at me, looking for acceptance. The second man fumbled with his hands, obviously mentally deficient and totally dependent on his friend. They had a handful of coins and bought only coffee because that was all they could afford. They had to buy something in order to sit down where it was warm. Acting on impulse, I bought two extra breakfasts and took them to the table where the men sat. I put the tray on the table and laid my hand on the blue-eyed gentleman’s cold hand. He looked up at me with tears in his eyes and said, ‘Thank you.’ I leaned over, began to pat his hand and said, ‘I did not do this for you; God is here working through me to give you hope.’” Here is a Christian sent by Christ to reach out “the sheep without shepherds” as Jesus sent his apostles to the shepherdless sheep with teaching and healing authority as described in today’s Gospel. We in turn are sent as his disciples to reach out to shepherdless sheep as well. In doing this we will find ourselves counted among the sheep and not the goats. Our call as disciples asks nothing less from us. And so, we imitate the Shepherd we follow. 

Fr. John Tran