No Strings Attached

11th Sunday In Ordinary Time
15 June 2008

First reading: Exodus 19:2 - 6
From Rephidim the sons of Israel set out again; and when they reached the wilderness of Sinai, there in the wilderness they pitched their camp; there facing the mountain Israel pitched camp.

Moses then went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, ‘Say this to the House of Jacob, declare this to the sons of Israel, “You yourselves have seen what I did with the Egyptians, how I carried you on eagle’s wings and brought you to myself. From this you know that now, if you obey my voice and hold fast to my covenant, you of all the nations shall be my very own for all the earth is mine. I will count you a kingdom of priests, a consecrated nation.”’

Second reading: Romans 5:6 - 11
We were still helpless when at his appointed moment Christ died for sinful men. It is not easy to die even for a good man – though of course for someone really worthy, a man might be prepared to die – but what proves that God loves us is that Christ died for us while we were still sinners. Having died to make us righteous, is it likely that he would now fail to save us from God’s anger? When we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, we were still enemies; now that we have been reconciled, surely we may count on being saved by the life of his Son? Not merely because we have been reconciled but because we are filled with joyful trust in God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have already gained our reconciliation.

Gospel: Matthew 9:36 - 10:8
And when he saw the crowds he felt sorry for them because they were harassed and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is rich but the labourers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send labourers to his harvest.’

He summoned his twelve disciples, and gave them authority over unclean spirits with power to cast them out and to cure all kinds of diseases and sickness.

These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon who is 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 Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, the one who was to betray him. These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them as follows: ‘Do not turn your steps to pagan territory, and do not enter any Samaritan town; go rather to the lost sheep of the House of Israel. And as you go, proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is close at hand. Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out devils. You received without charge, give without charge.’

Reflection
By Pietro S. Albano

A few months after starting to serve the parish, a colleague and I approached some senior parishioners to ask permission if we could borrow their cleaning gadgets (e.g. mops, brooms, etc)as we need to tidy up the Ultreya Hall for our Advent recollection. Instead of giving us a straight "Yes" (or No), we got a litany of complaints. All these moaning boiled down to one thing: they have devoted their time and all in the church na walang bayad (without being paid). I felt really disheartened after that conversation. I expected them who have been active in the community for so long not to have said those words. It's no joke to be involved in the community. There are times that you have to make sacrifices like waking up early in the morning, staying late at night, being absent from work or study, being ostracized by your family and friends in order to serve the Lord through His Church. If money would be part of community service, I doubt if people would have a genuine intention to participate. God has given us the gift of faith without any 'terms or conditions'. He does not even force us to be active in the parish. But if we do serve the community, let's bear in mind that our service has no strings attached.






All that I am, all that I do
All that I ever have
I offer now to you.

Take and sanctify these gifts
For your glory, Lord.
Knowing that I love and serve You
Is enough reward.

All that I am, all that I do,
All that I'll ever have, I offer now to you.

All that I dream, all that I pray,
All that I'll ever make, I give to you today.

Take and sanctify these gifts
For your honour, Lord.
Knowing that I love and serve you
Is enough reward.

All that I am, all that I do,
All that I'll ever have I offer now to you.