Jesus: Wants us to reap what he has sown

		Living the Scriptures  with St. Paul University  Catholic Center  Rachel Wepner

Today's Gospel reading has my favorite image of Jesus: no, not Jesus the Shepherd, but Jesus the Harvester.

Since the beginning of time, God has chosen a people (us) to be his "special possession," his flock, raised above all others to be "justified by his blood" and "saved from the wrath." Seeing Jesus as the Harvester brings hope to the human race that there is a divine reason for the sowing of our lives. Jesus says that "the harvest is abundant," that our lives can reap rich rewards.

The catch is, however, that "the laborers are few." Few people are willing to exert the effort necessary to live the holy lives God has made us for.

11th Sunday in Ordinary Time (June 12, 2005) Ex 19:2-6a Ps 100:1-2, 3, 5 Rom 5:6-11 Mt 9:36--10:8

Jesus is looking for people to be co-redeemers of humanity with him; he wants us to come with him into the fields in order to share the glory of the harvest with him. We only have to ask.

Jesus asked the "master of the harvest," his Father, "to send out laborers." His Father summoned the 12 disciples to be the first harvesters with his Son, Jesus Christ.

Jesus tells the 12 how they have received, without cost, the opportunity of gaining the kingdom of heaven. And, without cost, the 12 are to share the kingdom of heaven with "the lost sheep of the house of Israel."

Jesus, by dying for us, has also given to us, without asking for payment, the kingdom of heaven. It is in our hands to reap what he has sown in our hearts and share with others the kingdom we have been offered.

But what has Jesus, this Blessed Harvester, put in our hearts? He has put there a desire to be reconciled with the Father and to be one with him in all that we do.

Thus, if we are one with the Father, we are one with his Son, Jesus, who is the bread for our world, the reward of the harvest. We, too, must become bread for the world by redeeming others through our actions.

If this means curbing our tongue, resisting sarcasm and cynicism, speaking to the unattractive, comforting the ungrateful, obeying earthly authorities, volunteering time and talent, so be it: Amen.

For in doing so we become Christ-like and reap a reward far greater than any prize gained through succumbing to earthly temptations. Jesus the Harvester has awakened within each of us the desire to ask to be sent out to harvest what he has sown.

He has given us the chance to redeem humanity by shedding the heavy weight of our earthly selves and putting on the Christ that lives within our hearts. The kingdom of heaven is at hand, Jesus says, for those who are willing to work for it.

	Reflection question • How can I share with others the kingdom of heaven that I have received without cost?

Let us be Jesus' disciples today and cure the sick of heart and body, raise from the dead those who live for the sins of this world, stay the course, go out into the fields, and share with others the wonderful gift of the harvest that we have freely received without cost.

Rachel Wepner, a freshman at UW-Madison majoring in secondary English education, is a member of St. Paul's University Catholic Center.

St. Paul's Web site is www.stpaulscc.org

Deliverance:
God's love is all-encompassing, all-forgiving

		Living the Scriptures  with St. Paul University  Catholic Center  Julie Gryskiewicz

Reflecting on this week's Scripture readings kept drawing me to a place where God's love felt all-encompassing, all-forgiving.

Meditating on verses such as Jeremiah 20:11, "But the LORD is with me, like a mighty champion: my persecutors will stumble, they will not triumph," and Psalm 69:34, "For the LORD hears the poor, and his own who are in bonds he spurns not," gives me images of God as a rescuer and deliverer.

The tricky thing is, though, that God does not always "deliver" us in the way or at the time we desire Him to. He loves us too much to perform robotic rescues when we find ourselves in difficult situations.

12th Sunday in Ordinary Time (June 19, 2005) Jer 20:10-13 Ps 69:8-10, 14, 17, 33-35 Rom 5:12-15 Mt 10:26-33

Jesus, as the perfect Servant, always teaches us in His humility, and when we cry out for Him when we find ourselves in a place we do not want to be, we too must be humble in order to accept and grow in His mercy.

While praying through each of the readings this week, I began picturing a pregnant woman. Not one who is married and has planned the perfect time to start a new family, but one who has been abandoned by the baby's father and who has few supporters surrounding her. This woman may find herself in a similar state to that of Jeremiah's in the first reading.

It says that Jeremiah is struggling through an interior crisis, hearing the whisperings of many and sensing that all those who were his friends were on the watch for any misstep he made (Jeremiah 20:10).

The psalmist's cry is also one of anguish and great distress: "For your sake I bear insult, and shame covers my face. I have become an outcast to my brothers . . . because zeal for your house consumes me . . . " (Psalm 69: 8-10).

I can imagine this pregnant woman facing these situations: societal pressures all around her, finding an "easy way out" is tempting, especially since the downcast glances from those around her betray their feelings that she is unfit to become a mother.

I sense that Jeremiah and the psalmist were alone when they cried out to God for mercy. Their anguish was laid down at their Lord's feet and their prayer was for it to be exchanged for grace to complete the task before them.

These images remind me of a song by Lauryn Hill called "Zion." The lyrics pour forth from her: "Unsure of what the balance held, I touch my belly overwhelmed by what I had been chosen to perform. But then an angel came one day, told me to kneel down and pray for unto me a man child would be born."

	Reflection question • What are your first instincts when you see someone in a difficult situation? Are you quick to place judgments or quick to offer mercy?

She describes how those around her told her to use her head and think about her career, but that instead she chose to use her heart and give the child's life a chance.

I imagine that, over my career of being a teacher, many of my students will find themselves in these situations. Each time I see a pregnant student at school I am overwhelmed by her courage to keep her child in the most difficult of situations. I hope and pray that she will draw upon the promises of our God that His own who are in bonds He spurns not.

Julie Gryskiewicz, a recent University of Wisconsin-Madison graduate, holds a Bachelor of Science degree in secondary education-biology and aspires to middle or high school science teaching.

St. Paul's Web site is www.stpaulscc.org

Faith Alive!

In a Nutshell The loss of a parish is like a death. Real grief is involved. Welcoming a closed parish's people and respecting their talents and insights is a challenge for neighboring parishes that remain open. "Closing parishes is the hardest thing I have ever had to do in 40 years of religious life," Archbishop Sean O'Malley of Boston said Nov. 13, 2004. Catholic News Service 3211 Fourth St NE Washington DC 20017 202.541.3250 cns@catholicnews.com	Food for Thought   Are parishes going to get larger and larger? A few years ago Archbishop Daniel Pilarczyk of Cincinnati said he was "convinced that the most significant change in future parishes will be their size. Parishes will be bigger." The priesthood statistics were one reason for his prediction. "We don't have as many priests as we need to staff the parishes we have and the new ones that we ought to have, so we are closing and consolidating parishes. Consequently, the parishes that we will have will be bigger," he said. There was, however, another reason for Archbishop Pilarczyk's prediction: "People expect more of their parishes, and small parishes simply don't have the resources to respond to those expectations." A "full-service" parish today, he explained, has a parish council, education and finance commissions, catechists, bereavement committees, prebaptism and premarriage programs, Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults team members, leaders and helpers for programs for the divorced and remarried, and for lapsed Catholics -- and that a partial list. The archbishop said: full story   The "why" and "how" of restructuring parishes By Mark Mogilka Catholic News Service Virtually every U.S. Catholic diocese has undergone some form of parish restructuring in recent years. Based on current trends, it appears that such restructuring will continue as a regular part of parish and diocesan life for some time to come. The most common reason for restructuring parishes is the shortage of priests. Given the importance of the sacraments in the lives of Catholics, the challenge for diocesan leaders is to determine how best to utilize the gifts and talents of available priests. full story  Why a parish closing feels like a death By Father Herbert Weber Catholic News Service In my diocese and others, parishes are closing, merging or twinning in new configurations. This is due to demographic shifts as well as clergy shortages. A friend, Father Dan Fraser, is pastor of St. Agnes in Toledo, Ohio, which is closing after 95 years as a parish. St. Agnes has struggled a number of years, but parishioners loved their parish even as they saw membership and attendance dwindle. Knowing the closing was approaching, I asked my friend what it is like. He compared it to a death with a five-month funeral. full story  A bishop's perspective when parishes consolidate By Most Rev. Samuel J. Aquila Catholic News Service In August 2004 I announced the consolidation of 23 parishes by June 2005, with 10 others by 2010. The decisions were made after a 12-month study of our parishes' vitality and viability. The process, overseen by the deans of each region of our diocese, involved input from parishioners, review of population changes since 1910 and recommendations from parish priests. As bishop of Fargo, the consolidations weigh heavily on my heart. The loss of a parish, no matter how small, is like a death. Real grief is involved for all. Yet, from these changes comes hope for revitalized parishes and a deeper experience of our Catholic faith. full story
	Faith in the Marketplace   This Week's Discussion Point: What is the biggest challenge for those involved in the merger of two parishes?     Selected Response From Readers:
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