The Harvest Is Plenty

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

In today’s Gospel, Jesus looks upon the crowds and sees people who are “troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd.” Then He says: “The harvest is abundant, but the laborers are few.” Here, Jesus uses two agricultural images: the image of a shepherd and the image of a harvest. At first glance, they seem unrelated. But the Gospel places them together subtly referencing the story of Cain and Abel. Abel was a shepherd. Cain was a farmer. One cared for the flock. The other worked the harvest. Yet instead of working as brothers to grow the harvest, they became rivals. Jealousy entered their hearts, and division destroyed what God intended for unity. With this analogue, Matthew is subtly reminding us of something important: God’s mission can only flourish when His people work together as brothers and sisters.

Even among the disciples, Jesus gives authority. He appoints the Twelve and sends them out. But authority is dangerous if it becomes a source of competition rather than communion. Authority can unite, but it can also divide. We see it in families, workplaces, parishes, and even within the Church. The Gospel reminds us that the harvest belongs to God. We are simply laborers working side by side.

Jesus sends His disciples with three tasks.

First: Proclamation. “Go and proclaim that the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” Before they are told to do anything extraordinary, they are told to announce good news. The Church exists first to proclaim Jesus Christ.

Sometimes we think evangelization requires great expertise. But often it begins with a simple witness: sharing how God has worked in our lives, speaking words of hope, encouraging someone who has forgotten that God loves them. The world is hungry for meaning. The harvest is plentiful. People are waiting to hear that they are not abandoned and that God has not forgotten them.

Second: Healing.

Jesus tells them to cure the sick. Why? Because sin wounds. Life wounds. Disappointment wounds. Many people carry invisible illnesses of the heart: loneliness, grief, resentment, anxiety, shame. A disciple of Jesus is called to be an instrument of healing. Sometimes healing comes through prayer. Sometimes through forgiveness. Sometimes through listening to someone who feels unseen.

The Church is not meant to be a museum for the perfect. It is meant to be a field hospital where wounded people encounter the mercy of God.

Third: Cast Out.

Jesus tells them to cast out unclean spirits. This may sound dramatic, but every Christian faces this mission. There are forces that pull people away from God: hatred, division, pride, despair, addiction, gossip, bitterness.

Notice that the first division in the Bible began between brothers – Cain and Abel. The enemy still works the same way. If he can divide brothers and sisters, he weakens the harvest. Every time we choose reconciliation over resentment, humility over pride, unity over division, we are helping to cast out the spirit that seeks to destroy God’s work.

The harvest is plentiful. The challenge is whether His laborers will work together. Jesus does not send one disciple alone. He forms a community. Because the harvest grows when brothers work together, not against one another.

And perhaps that is the question for us today:

• Am I helping build unity, or am I creating division?
• Am I acting like Cain, protecting my own interests?

The harvest is abundant. May we be faithful laborers.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, You looked upon the crowds with compassion and called laborers into Your harvest. Free my heart from jealousy, competition, and division. Teach me to work alongside my brothers and sisters with humility and joy. Help me to proclaim Your Kingdom, bring healing to those who are wounded, and resist everything that separates people from You. May my life help gather the harvest You desire. Amen.

– Homily by Rev Fr Patrick Agbeko