20260614 RECEIVED WITHOUT CHARGE, GIVE WITHOUT CHARGE
14 June 2026, Sunday, 11th Week in Ordinary Time
First reading | Exodus 19:2-6 |
I will count you a kingdom of priests, a consecrated nation
From Rephidim the sons of Israel set out again; and when they reached the wilderness of Sinai, there in the wilderness they pitched their camp; there facing the mountain Israel pitched camp.
Moses then went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, ‘Say this to the House of Jacob, declare this to the sons of Israel, “You yourselves have seen what I did with the Egyptians, how I carried you on eagle’s wings and brought you to myself. From this you know that now, if you obey my voice and hold fast to my covenant, you of all the nations shall be my very own for all the earth is mine. I will count you a kingdom of priests, a consecrated nation.”’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 99(100):2-3,5 |
We are his people, the sheep of his flock.
Cry out with joy to the Lord, all the earth.
Serve the Lord with gladness.
Come before him, singing for joy.
We are his people, the sheep of his flock.
Know that he, the Lord, is God.
He made us, we belong to him,
we are his people, the sheep of his flock.
We are his people, the sheep of his flock.
Indeed, how good is the Lord,
eternal his merciful love.
He is faithful from age to age.
We are his people, the sheep of his flock.
Second reading | Romans 5:6-11 |
Now we have been reconciled by the death of his Son, surely we may count on being saved by the life of his Son
We were still helpless when at his appointed moment Christ died for sinful men. It is not easy to die even for a good man – though of course for someone really worthy, a man might be prepared to die – but what proves that God loves us is that Christ died for us while we were still sinners. Having died to make us righteous, is it likely that he would now fail to save us from God’s anger? When we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, we were still enemies; now that we have been reconciled, surely we may count on being saved by the life of his Son? Not merely because we have been reconciled but because we are filled with joyful trust in God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have already gained our reconciliation.
Gospel Acclamation | Jn10:27 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice,
says the Lord,
I know them and they follow me.
Alleluia!
Gospel |
Matthew 9:36-10:8 |
The harvest is rich but the labourers are few
When Jesus saw the crowds he felt sorry for them because they were harassed and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is rich but the labourers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send labourers to his harvest.’
He summoned his twelve disciples, and gave them authority over unclean spirits with power to cast them out and to cure all kinds of diseases and sickness.
These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew; James the son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, the one who was to betray him. These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them as follows:
‘Do not turn your steps to pagan territory, and do not enter any Samaritan town; go rather to the lost sheep of the House of Israel. And as you go, proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is close at hand. Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out devils. You received without charge, give without charge.’
RECEIVED WITHOUT CHARGE, GIVE WITHOUT CHARGE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Ex 19:2-6; Ps 100:2-3, 5; Rom 5:6-11; Mt 9:36 – 10:8]
“Jesus saw the crowds and he felt sorry for them because they were harassed and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd.” These words should inspire us to share in the mission of Jesus to reach out to people who are lost, confused, and desperate without a shepherd. This is true even for those who live in affluent countries, where people are supposedly highly educated and hold top leadership positions in civil and public organisations. Although many appear not to be lost or abandoned, behind the “successful” façade they are lonely people, wearied of life, competition, power, and responsibilities, and often desperate for love and meaning. Many, though successful in their professional lives, are failures in their personal, marital, and family lives.
Indeed, the Church is missionary by nature. She does not exist for herself or for her own salvation. The Church exists for the world, for all those who are suffering, afflicted, and lost. It is the task and mission of the Church to give hope to humanity. Like Jesus, the Good Shepherd, the Church must seek out those who are lost and searching for meaning and happiness in life. The Church is called to extend the compassion of Christ, our Good Shepherd, to all, regardless of their station in life. This explains why the Holy Father is always speaking out on behalf of the poor, the marginalized, the sick, the migrants, and those suffering from poverty, war, and injustice.
Of course, this includes reaching out first and foremost to our fellow Catholics, many of whom are hardly living the fullness of the Christian life. Beyond their Sunday obligation, their faith life and relationship with the Lord are almost absent, except when they are desperate for help. Some have already strayed from the Church. As Catholics, we must take the command of the Lord seriously to “go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel,” proclaiming “that the kingdom of heaven is close at hand.”
But as the Lord said to His disciples, “The harvest is rich but the labourers are few.” Why are we lacking shepherds? Certainly, it cannot be that we lack talent. We have so many Catholics who are professionals, leaders, and shepherds in the corporate world. Yet when it comes to lay leadership in the Church, we have so few who are available to serve in her mission.
So why is there a lack of missionary and evangelical zeal? The answer is simple. Many Catholics have not encountered the Gospel as truly Good News. They have not met Jesus personally and, therefore, are not excited about Him. They have not yet encountered the power of God at work in their own lives, nor have they experienced the personal love of God in Jesus. Indeed, the basis of missionary zeal is the fundamental experience of God’s mighty and unconditional love for us. Without this experience, we cannot speak of mission, for this has always been its core criterion. Mission is the natural consequence of the Good News being received.
For the Israelites, their sense of mission and faith sprang from the fact that they had witnessed the power of God in the Exodus. They saw the power of God at work in their history, especially in the plagues worked by Moses against the Egyptians, and most of all, in the Exodus experience itself–when they saw how the Lord delivered them from the hands of the Egyptians as they crossed the Red Sea and journeyed through the desert.
But it was not only the mighty power of God that they saw. It was also God’s offer of a covenantal relationship, which made them the people of God. For God told the people, “From this you know that now, if you obey my voice and hold fast to my covenant, you of all the nations shall be my very own, for all the earth is mine. I will count you a kingdom of priests, a consecrated nation.” Such was the experience of Israel. They were a people of no consequence, and yet the Lord chose them not only to be His people but for a mission. As priests and prophets, they were called to witness to the holiness of God for all humanity. It was out of sheer gratitude for God’s unconditional love that the Israelites could surrender their lives to Yahweh.
The Exodus experience was only a foreshadowing of the Christian experience of God’s love in the flesh. In the Exodus, we see that God was intimately involved in the lives of the Israelites. However, in His mercy, God chose to become one of us and one with us, to suffer with us and for us. Jesus, being fully human, understands all the sorrows and pains of humanity. He showed His compassion and love for us by healing the sick, enlightening the lost, and delivering those enslaved by sin and the power of Satan. The people of Jesus’ time encountered Him as the Mercy of God in person.
The death of Christ is the proof of God’s infinite love for us. That is why the cross and the blood of Jesus are the sources of our reconciliation with Him. Anyone who understands the meaning of the cross and the sacrificial death of Christ will no longer doubt the love of God for humanity. Of course, the resurrection is equally important, for in it lies the promise and pledge of eternal life. This, then, is the culmination of God’s love for humanity. Thus, the fundamental experience of the love of God for Christians is the experience of God who revealed Himself as the Father who sent the Son, and together, the Father and the Son sent us the Holy Spirit so that we can experience the love of God in our hearts.
Arising from this experience of being loved unconditionally and forgiven, we are liberated for love and mission. How does this happen? As St. Paul said, “having died to make us righteous, is it likely that he would now fail to save us from God’s anger?” Yes, if God has died for us in Christ, we can be confident that there is nothing else God would refrain from giving us. With the assurance of His love and fidelity, we are now healed and set free from all the bondages and fears that prevent us from being loving and generous.
This call to mission is the consequence of gratitude for being saved and loved in spite of our unworthiness. Having been loved in such a manner, our hearts are moved to have the compassion of Christ for those who are seeking freedom, forgiveness, love, and, most of all, God in their lives. We now want to proclaim the Good News not merely because we have been reconciled and healed, but because we are filled with joyful trust and gratitude to God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have already gained our reconciliation.
As Jesus rightly said, “You received without charge, give without charge.” Only those whose love is motivated by God’s love for them can be said to be truly evangelical. Christian love is not based on mere humanitarian considerations, but on the reality of being loved by Christ. Indeed, a person reaches out in love to others out of gratitude for being loved by Christ, it is a true sign that they have encountered the Lord.
The question that remains is whether we have had this fundamental experience. If there is a lack of commitment to Jesus or a lack of desire to bring Him to others, it is obvious that we have not truly encountered His love or experienced His power in our lives. For many of us, our faith in Jesus is merely intellectual or ritualistic; there is no real relationship with Him. This accounts for our lack of zeal in announcing Jesus to others.
How can we too enter into this experience so that we, too, can be a full and mature Christian? Ordinarily, many experience the personal love of God in Christ through renewal movements, which are considered graces of the Holy Spirit in the Third Millennium. Others experience the power and presence of God through extraordinary signs given by God in healing miracles, spiritual manifestations, and deep religious experiences. That the Church continues to exercise the ministry of healing, deliverance, and exorcism means that such signs remain marks of the presence of the Risen Lord working in and through the Church. Of course, it is also possible that the love of God can come in a very special way through friends and the kindness of people. In experiencing love, forgiveness, and compassion through them, God’s love is also made real.
Regardless of how one is touched by the Lord, it is necessary to have a radical encounter with the Risen Christ if we are to be excited to undertake the mission entrusted to us, for indeed, the harvest is plentiful and the labourers are few. Otherwise, the love of God is reduced to a doctrine without a personal relationship with Him. Christianity is fundamentally a personal relationship with a personal God in Christ.
If we know that the Lord loves us and has saved us, and if we see His power at work in our lives, then seeing those who are like sheep without a shepherd, harassed by all kinds of afflictions and torments, we, too, will want to bring them the mercy, compassion, and freedom of the Good News. Reaching out to others through the proclamation of Christ as the Mercy of God, the Way, the Truth, and the Life, demonstrated by our works of mercy. Especially to the marginalized and the neglected, is what it means to take up the call to share in the apostolic mission of Christ.
Best Practices for Using the Daily Scripture Reflections
- Encounter God through the spirit of prayer and the scripture by reflecting and praying the Word of God daily. The purpose is to bring you to prayer and to a deeper union with the Lord on the level of the heart.
- Daily reflections when archived will lead many to accumulate all the reflections of the week and pray in one sitting. This will compromise your capacity to enter deeply into the Word of God, as the tendency is to read for knowledge rather than a prayerful reading of the Word for the purpose of developing a personal and affective relationship with the Lord.
- It is more important to pray deeply, not read widely. The current reflections of the day would be more than sufficient for anyone who wants to pray deeply and be led into an intimacy with the Lord.
Note: You may share this reflection with someone. However, please note that reflections are not archived online nor will they be available via email request.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
