Scripture Reflection - June 14, 2026

Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

Exodus 19:2-6a Romans 5:6:11      Gospel 9:36-10:8

WITHOUT COST WE HAVE RECEIVED;

WITHOUT COST WE ARE TO GIVE.

In today’s first reading, God speaks to Moses and says, “If you hearken to my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my special possession dearer to me than all other people”.  

Possession. I’ve never thought of my relationship with God as possessive, in the sense of ownership.  However, it doesn’t sound derogatory to me, but rather safe.  I’m glad I belong to God. I am his, and by virtue of that relationship, he is mine. Yes, it elicits a sense of safety for me, but it also carries an inherent responsibility. As in any loving relationship, those involved feel a responsibility to the other. Voluntarily, there is a desire to please.

Paul speaks to the Romans in the second reading and reminds us that Christ died for us and that we have received reconciliation through his sacrifice.  

Matthew’s Gospel is the well-known story of the harvest and the laborers. Jesus comes upon the crowd and pities them because he can sense their neediness; a multitude of needs of varying kinds. It must have felt overwhelming to him, and he responds accordingly by summoning his disciples to be the laborers of his flock. Jesus gives them the authority to cure, cleanse, drive out, and raise up. He also instructs them where to go and to whom they should minister. Most importantly, this Gospel passage ends with this: “Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.”

There is a lot to reflect on in today’s readings. Possession, relationship, belonging, safety, responsibility, reconciliation, sacrifice, and service are the key points for me.  By virtue of belonging to God, I want to be pleasing to him.  My world would feel a lot less safe without this relationship, and I accept the responsibility of being his “special possession”. 

Service sometimes calls for sacrifice, but the rewards are many.  Imagine how the apostles felt after curing, cleansing, or restoring a suffering soul. 

Jesus still needs laborers, though maybe not for curing lepers or raising the dead. But there are suffering souls everywhere. Our world is so broken that this realization can be overwhelming. We don’t have Jesus in physical form to direct us, but we do have the assistance of the Holy Spirit when we ask, “Where and to whom shall I serve?” Sometimes the answer is sitting right next to us or next door. 

I pray that we see and hear the needs of others, remembering that without cost we have received, and without cost we are to give.  Amen.

Peggy Roach, Associate