THE HARVEST IS PLENTIFUL
In today's readings, we are invited to reflect deeply on the spiritual state of the world and our role in God's plan of salvation. Jesus says, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few." What does this mean for us today?
In the first reading, we hear of the Israelites returning from exile—a consequence of their sin. In the second reading, St. Paul boasts in the Cross, the only means by which the world is delivered from that exile. Sin separates; the Cross reconciles.
When Jesus speaks of a plentiful harvest, He is speaking of a world deeply wounded by sin—by lawlessness, broken relationships, injustice, and despair. The "harvest" refers to souls longing for truth, healing, and hope, yet caught in the chaos of a fallen world.
Jesus' words remind us: the problem is not the lack of people needing salvation—the world is more than ready for change. The problem is the shortage of committed disciples willing to go out and bring that healing.
He first tells us to pray, but then He sends. Often, we are the very answers to our own prayers. Jesus calls each of us, just as He called the Twelve and the Seventy-Two, to be laborers in the vineyard.
Why are the laborers so few? Because we are not ready. St. Paul asks in Romans 10:14, "How can they preach unless they are sent?" But how can we be sent if we do not first know and live the faith ourselves? Many of us, even after years of catechism, remain spiritual infants. We hesitate to share the Gospel because we feel inadequate, untrained, or unsure. But faith that is not expressed becomes faith in bondage, stagnant, and powerless to transform.
Look at our world: where love so quickly turns to hatred and violence, where families break down, where addiction and trauma overwhelm many. Prisons are full, and many hearts are empty. Though our churches may be full on Sundays, the real challenge is the gap between attendance and authentic witness. The world doesn't just need sermons; it needs transformed lives.
This mission cannot be fulfilled by human effort alone. Jesus told us to pray to the Lord of the harvest, because we are fighting more than just ignorance or indifference. As Ephesians 6:12 reminds us, we wrestle not with flesh and blood, but with principalities and spiritual powers. Prayer empowers us. Without it, our efforts are just noise. With it, our words carry divine fire. When the disciples returned from their mission, they were astonished - not just by how many listened, but by how many were healed and delivered.
If we do what Jesus commands, we too will see fruits - maybe not always dramatic, but always real. Healing, reconciliation, peace, and transformation begin to take root when we live our faith authentically.
So, the harvest is plenty and the laborers are few, but if we can begin somewhere, a lot will be accomplished. The 72 disciples tell us that we should break with our fears and doubts and take Jesus by his words.
For when they took Jesus by his words and acted in his name, they were surprised by the outcome – they not only healed and delivered demon possessors, they touched lives with the power of the word. Let us go home today and take up our vocation to preach the Gospel through words and a good Christian life, challenging us to reap a plentiful harvest.
Let us add to this our persistent prayers for God to send more laborers to the harvest. Let us begin today by demonstrating to those who know us that we are Christians through our behavior, judgment, love, prayer life, and testimony of our lives (1 Peter 3:15).
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