Exodus 19.2-6a | Romans 5.6-11 | Matthew 9.36-10.8

We begin the eleventh week of Ordinary Time with Mother Church, deepening our knowledge and experience of Jesus and the Good News of the Kingdom of God.

Today the evangelist Matthew speaks to us about Jesus' missionary sending of the twelve apostles.

After traveling through cities and villages announcing the Kingdom of God, Jesus moves from personal action to shared mission, calling and sending the Twelve Apostles.

It all begins with Jesus' gaze. He does not see just a crowd; he sees concrete people, with their pains, doubts, sins, and sufferings.

The Greek word translated as "compassion" indicates a deep emotion that springs from within. Jesus suffers with those who suffer. He perceives that the people lack spiritual guides capable of leading them to God.

The image of "sheep without a shepherd" recalls several passages from the Old Testament, especially the prophets who criticized the religious and political leaders who had abandoned the people (cf. Ezekiel 34).

Today, too, many people live disoriented: without meaning in life, estranged from faith, wounded by injustices, without solid spiritual references. The disciple of Christ is called to look at the world with the merciful eyes of Jesus.

The harvest represents humanity in need of salvation. Jesus does not say that there is a lack of people interested in God; he says that there is a lack of workers for the harvest.

Before sending missionaries, Jesus asks for prayer. Vocation is born from divine initiative. The Church does not create missionaries; God calls them. Prayer for vocations remains an urgency. The whole Church is responsible for the emergence and maturation of vocations.

Jesus calls the Twelve by name. This shows that the Christian mission is not anonymous. God calls concrete people, with their qualities and limitations. The group is quite diverse. The Church is born from the grace of God, not from human perfection. The Christian mission includes proclaiming the truth, fighting evil, promoting life, and alleviating human suffering.

Initially, Jesus sends the Twelve to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. The Gospel begins with the people of the Old Covenant. After the resurrection, the mission will be extended to all nations (cf. Mt 28:19). The center of preaching is not the missionary, nor an ideology, but the Kingdom of God. Jesus associates proclamation and action.

Evangelization must touch the whole person: body and soul, individual and society, present and eternity.

The disciple is not the owner of the grace received. Everything comes from God and must be placed at the service of others.

We must sincerely ask ourselves: when we see the crowds of today, do we feel the same compassion as Christ and are we willing to collaborate in his mission?

Today the author of the book of Exodus speaks to us of the Lord's covenant with His people so that they might be a light before the nations.

The people had already experienced God's liberating power, crossing the Red Sea, being fed with manna, receiving water in the desert, and overcoming their enemies.

Now God desires to establish a relationship of communion with His people. Liberation was not an end in itself. God freed Israel so that they could live in covenant with Him.

Likewise, the Christian life does not consist only in being freed from sin. The goal of salvation is to enter into communion with God and live according to His will.

The image of the eagle is very beautiful. Just as the bird protects and guides its young, God cared for Israel throughout the desert crossing.

The covenant is born of grace, not merit. First, God saves. Then He invites faithfulness. The same happens in the New Covenant:

God loved us first, Christ died for us first, then we are called to conversion.

The covenant is a free gift, but it demands a response. Israel must hear the Word, keep the commandments, and remain faithful.

True freedom does not consist in doing everything one desires, but in living according to God's plan. Without faithfulness, the covenant weakens.

Israel is chosen to serve the divine plan of salvation destined for all humanity. Election is a call to service, not a privilege to feed pride. The same applies to the Church. The Church does not exist for itself, but to announce salvation to the world.

Israel was to witness to God's presence, teach His ways, and be a sign of holiness among the nations. Through Baptism, all Christians participate in the common priesthood of the faithful and are called to sanctify the world through faith, hope, and charity.

We must ask ourselves: do we live our condition as God's people as a privilege or as a mission to witness His presence and His love in the world?

Today the apostle Paul speaks to us in his letter to the Romans about the greatest proof of God's love, which was Christ's death for sinners.

The apostle recalled the situation of humanity before redemption, marked by sin, incapable of saving itself, distant from God.

The initiative for salvation did not come from man, but from God. While humanity was incapable of reaching God, God came to meet them in Jesus Christ. This reveals the gratuitousness of grace.

Paul used a human example. It is rare for someone to give their own life for another person, even if that person is good and righteous. But God went beyond all human logic. Christ did not die for perfect people. He died for sinners. The cross is the ultimate manifestation of divine love. God's love is not a consequence of human goodness; it is precisely what makes human conversion possible.

In biblical language, blood represents life offered. The blood shed by Christ on the cross signifies His total surrender out of love. Justification is the restoration of friendship between God and humankind.

Through Christ, sins are forgiven, communion with God is restored, and the way to eternal life is opened.

The expression "wrath of God" should not be understood as an emotional outburst, but as God's rejection of sin and its destructive consequences.

Sin produces rupture. Christ came to reconcile what was divided. Reconciliation is one of the key words of Pauline spirituality. We are not only forgiven; we are welcomed back into God's friendship.

Salvation does not end at the cross. The Christ who died is also the resurrected Christ. The new life of the Risen One continues to act in the Church through the Word, the sacraments, and the action of the Holy Spirit. Christian hope rests not only on the redemptive death of Jesus, but also on His victory over death.

The Christian does not glory in himself, in his merits or achievements. His joy is in God. The disciple knows that his salvation is a gift and not an achievement.

Let us ask ourselves: do we truly believe that God loves us even with our limitations?