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This gospel verse keeps resounding each time I read it.

“The harvest is abundant” – There are so many souls that have lost their way; there are so many that have become so lukewarm in their faith; there are so many who have stopped believing; there are so many who have been scandalized by the Church’s lack of empathy at crucial moments; others have been scandalized by their fellow Christian’s lack of human compassion. All these and many other motives have left a lot of people stranded in their faith journey. All these various groups of people are in dire need of a true pastor to guide and lead them back on track.

“The labourers are few” – One will naturally think that by now there are enough teachers and preachers of the faith; there are enough priests for example; there are abundant religious men and women; there are an uprising of lay evangelizers and missionaries. But the question remains; how many of these are really true “labourers” in the vineyard; how many are really doing “the work of God”; how many are sincere in their commitment to evangelizing; how many understand that they are mere servants, stewards and not the masters themselves; how many understand that to be “a labourer” in the Lord’s vineyard one should nullify all forms of self-seeking motives; how many really still believe in what they preach.

“Ask the Master of the Harvest to send out labourers for his Harvest” – In the end we see why this prayer is still relevant and urgent. There are so many who pretend to be labourers but aren’t; there are so many who started well with really good intentions but got corrupted and deviated along the way; there are so many wolves out there with a shepherd’s clothing; instead of labour for the Lord’s vineyard for whom they were called; they now labour for themselves and their ulterior motives. All these untrue, unfaithful and dishonest pastors make the number of true labourers fewer by each passing day.

Let us pray God that the Church of our time will never lack true pastors, teachers and preachers of the faith who conscious of their vocation labour selflessly, diligently and faithfully to lead and guide the people of God – the abundant harvest for the Kingdom.

Fr. Valentine Umoh
Personal reflections on Matt 9:37-38
July 2024