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Gospel: Matthew 9:36-10:8
At the sight of the crowds, Jesus’ heart was moved with pity for them
because they were troubled and abandoned,
like sheep without a shepherd.
Then he said to his disciples,
“The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few;
so ask the master of the harvest
to send out laborers for his harvest.”
Then he summoned his twelve disciples
and gave them authority over unclean spirits
to drive them out and to cure every disease and every illness.
The names of the twelve apostles are these:
first, Simon called Peter, and his brother Andrew;
James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John;
Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew the tax collector;
James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus;
Simon from Cana, and Judas Iscariot who betrayed him.
Jesus sent out these twelve after instructing them thus,
“Do not go into pagan territory or enter a Samaritan town.
Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’
Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons.
Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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Time is a curious thing.
It’s fast and slow. It seems to drag on when we’re young, but it accelerates as we age. We never seem to have enough of it, yet we sleep 1/3 of it away. And none of us knows just how much time we have left.
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The ancient Greeks had two different notions of time.
One was chronos, the tick-tock type of time we live our lives by. Imagine the secondhand ticking on a watch’s face. Or a child crossing the days off on a calendar, anxiously waiting for the school year to end and for summer to begin.
The other was called kairos, which meant an appointed time; a significant moment in history, when the conditions were right for either a breakthrough or success.
Kairos was first used to describe a decisive moment in battle, when the momentum had shifted in one particular direction. The military brass knew that victory was within reach if their troops persevered.
Today we might think of kairos in terms of a college acceptance letter; a job offer; a marriage proposal; a pregnancy; the moment of priestly ordination; or even a health scare or the death of a loved one.
Each of these events unfolds chronologically in a matter of seconds or minutes, but in the grander scheme of life, they are kairos moments; breakthroughs; opportunities; occasions that can change our lives forever.
When a kairos moment comes, it startles us. The best way to respond is to pray first, then act.
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In today’s Gospel, Jesus reaches a kairos moment in his ministry. Gazing upon the tired, weary crowds, he recognizes that word of his deeds has spread, almost uncontrollably so; people are hungering for his power, his compassion, and his teachings.
Simultaneously, he recognizes the limits of his earthly body, and that the tide of opposition is rising against him; seeds for plotting his death have been planted in the hearts of the religious authorities.
The clock is ticking.
Now is the time for Jesus to expand the scope and scale of his mission. Summoning the Twelve Apostles, he says to them, “The harvest is abundant, but the laborers are few. So, ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.”
Any farmer can tell you that when the harvest is ready, there’s a clear sense of urgency; it’s all hands on deck. You either reap what you’ve sown or lose your crop.
Gazing upon the weary crowds, Jesus feels the same sense of urgency. Thus, what started out as a decisive moment for him also draws in his disciples; his invitation for them to participate in his ministry will forever change their lives.
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How do you think the Apostles felt when Christ called upon them? Did fire burn in their veins? Did zeal for souls consume their hearts? Or were they afraid, far more comfortable observing Jesus than acting in his name?
Either way, they rose to the occasion. Each of the Apostles played a pivotal role in changing the course of human history. When this kairos moment came, they prayed, then acted.
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Think of some of the kairos moments that we experience within our own community of faith.
When I came to this parish six years ago.
When the Holy Spirit is given to a child in baptism.
When our young people publicly profess their faith at Confirmation.
When a couple walks down the aisle.
When, like the Prodigal Son, a person shows up in the confessional, seeking God’s forgiveness.
When an entire family returns to church after years of being away.
When we mourn the loss of a loved one, commending them to God.
When we gather around this altar every Sunday in search of God, much like the tired, weary crowds in today’s Gospel.
All of these are kairos moments, opportunities for God to break into our lives, filling us with his grace, as he sends us out on mission, building his kingdom gesture by gesture.
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What’s a kairos moment in your own life? Where do you see God acting? Or where do you need God to act?
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Time is a curious thing. It’s fast and slow. It seems to drag on when we’re young, but it accelerates as we age. We ask, we wait, we hope, we seek. Suddenly, life’s momentum shifts and we find ourselves on the verge of something new.
A kairos moment.
May the Lord give us the wisdom to see what must be done – and the courage to do it.
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Image credits: (1) Reddit (2) Old Clocks Info (3) That Angami Girl!
