Christ has no body now but ours. He looks through our eyes, speaks through our words, works through our hands

....We must carry Jesus in our hearts to wherever He wants to go, and there are many places to which He may never go unless we take Him to them. It may be when we take Christ for the first time to that grey office in the city where we work, to the wretched lodging of that poor man who is an outcast, to the nursery of that pampered child, to that battleship, airfield, or camp... - Caryll Houselander (A lay Roman Catholic ecclesiastical artist, mystic, popular religious writer and poet)

Gospel Text: (MT 9:32-38)
A demoniac who could not speak was brought to Jesus,
and when the demon was driven out the mute man spoke.
The crowds were amazed and said,
“Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.”
But the Pharisees said,
“He drives out demons by the prince of demons.”

Jesus went around to all the towns and villages,
teaching in their synagogues,
proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom,
and curing every disease and illness.
At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them
because they were troubled and abandoned,
like sheep without a shepherd.
Then he said to his disciples,
“The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few;
so ask the master of the harvest
to send out laborers for his harvest.”

Before our food ends up on our tables, seeds had to be planted, and water sprinkled on top. Livestock needed to be cared for, and crops needed to be pruned. Sweat and labor throughout a summer full of work, with hopes, the seeds, which were planted, nurtured and loved, would produce fields full of plenty, and a harvest for the world. So to is it with the “seeds” sown by God’s people to produce “fruit” for the Kingdom of God this very day!

In Mark 4 Jesus tells stories about seeds. He was speaking to a small group of Galilean fishermen who must have wondered how they could ever really make an impact on the world. Like Jesus’ apostles, who walked with him 2000 years ago, we live in an often harsh and brutal world. The horrific events in the news could lead us to despair about human nature – the good seeming to be trampled mercilessly underfoot.

But Jesus says – Keep sowing – keep sowing the seeds of hope and peace and love and justice in the world. And yes some seeds will be trampled and choked. But keep on sowing! Trust the seed of God’s love. Believe in the Harvest!

Let me leave you with the words of the late Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador, who was martyred in 1980:
One person plants a seed in the soil. Another waters it.
We plant seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted knowing that they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
(what we do) may be incomplete, but is a beginning,
a step along the way, an opportunity for God’s grace to enter and do the rest.
We may never see the end results,
but that is the difference between the Master Builder and the worker.
We are workers, not master builders;
ministers, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future not our own.

So let us sow the seed and trust God for the Harvest!