Jesus' Great Compassion Leads Laborers Forth, Matthew 9:35-38, Acts 1:1-8

When Jesus is healing and teaching in the Gospel of Matthew, we hear of his looking upon the crowds with compassion and calling upon his disciples to pray for God the Father to raise up laborers to go into this harvest of people who need the Good Shepherd. This passage is part of our readings for World Mission Sunday and reminds us that as we pray for laborers, the Lord can call us into the very work we are praying for.

Image: Sent to Sheep without a Shepherd, picture by Lawrence OP, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0, no changes made. Image location: https://www.flickr.com/photos/paullew/50003858018/

Ascension and Revelation

Jesus’ ascension is an oft overlooked event in our Savior’s life, and yet, it brings a completion of redemption as he presents himself to his Father in heaven for our sake and becomes our eternal intercessor. Father Jeremiah considers a few of the implications of this reality in his sermon for the Sunday after the Ascension.

Image: Christ Ascending into Heaven (Detail from an embroidered in the Dominican convent at Stone, Staffordshire), photo by Lawrence OP, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0, no changes made. Image location: https://www.flickr.com/photos/paullew/7214076440/in/photostream/