20251206 GO RATHER TO THE LOST SHEEP OF THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL
06 December 2025, Saturday, 1st Week in Advent
First reading |
Isaiah 30:19-21,23-26 |
The Lord God will be gracious to you and hear your cry
Thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel:
People of Zion, you will live in Jerusalem and weep no more. He will be gracious to you when he hears your cry; when he hears he will answer. When the Lord has given you the bread of suffering and the water of distress, he who is your teacher will hide no longer, and you will see your teacher with your own eyes. Whether you turn to right or left, your ears will hear these words behind you, ‘This is the way, follow it.’ He will send rain for the seed you sow in the ground, and the bread that the ground provides will be rich and nourishing. Your cattle will graze, that day, in wide pastures. Oxen and donkeys that till the ground will eat a salted fodder, winnowed with shovel and fork. On every lofty mountain, on every high hill there will be streams and watercourses, on the day of the great slaughter when the strongholds fall. Then moonlight will be bright as sunlight and sunlight itself be seven times brighter – like the light of seven days in one – on the day the Lord dresses the wound of his people and heals the bruises his blows have left.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 146(147):1-6 |
Happy are all who hope in the Lord.
or
Alleluia!
Praise the Lord for he is good;
sing to our God for he is loving:
to him our praise is due.
The Lord builds up Jerusalem
and brings back Israel’s exiles.
Happy are all who hope in the Lord.
or
Alleluia!
He heals the broken-hearted,
he binds up all their wounds.
He fixes the number of the stars;
he calls each one by its name.
Happy are all who hope in the Lord.
or
Alleluia!
Our Lord is great and almighty;
his wisdom can never be measured.
The Lord raises the lowly;
he humbles the wicked to the dust.
Happy are all who hope in the Lord.
or
Alleluia!
Gospel Acclamation | Is55:6 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Seek the Lord while he is still to be found,
call to him while he is still near.
Alleluia!
Or: | Is33:22 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
The Lord is our judge, the Lord our lawgiver,
the Lord our king and saviour.
Alleluia!
Gospel |
Matthew 9:35-10:1,5,6-8 |
The harvest is rich but the labourers are few
Jesus made a tour through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Good News of the kingdom and curing all kinds of diseases and sickness.
And when he 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 twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them as follows: ‘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.’
GO RATHER TO THE LOST SHEEP OF THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [IS 30:19-21, 23-26; PS 147:1-6; MT 9:35-10:1, 5, 6-8]
In the Gospel, we read about Jesus’ concern for His people. “When he 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.'” Indeed, this has always been the case. There are so many in the world who are dejected because of suffering, loss and betrayal by loved ones, financial difficulties, unemployment, lack of water and food, no access to medical care, or injustices at work or even at home. Not only are they deprived of physical and material needs, they are also like sheep without a shepherd. There is no real direction in life because of the promotion of secularism and relativism. There seems to be no purpose for living when life is thought to end at death, and all that we work for or accumulate must eventually be left behind.
It is within this context that the Church is called to be missionary in her outlook. Jesus asked that more labourers be found for the mission–priests, religious, and laity alike. Just like the Twelve, the Lord has given us the mandate to do what He did. “He summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits with power to cast them out and to cure all kinds of disease and sickness.” Like Jesus, we are called to heal every form of illness and to relieve every kind of suffering–physical, material, emotional, or spiritual. The mission of the Church is not directed only to people’s physical needs nor only to their spiritual needs. The Gospel addresses the whole person–body, mind, and spirit. We are called to promote the integral growth of the human person by providing sustenance for the body, peace for the mind, and an intimate relationship with God.
This was also the message of Isaiah when he prophesied that God would return to Israel, bless them, and heal them of their pains. “He will send rain for the seed you sow in the ground, and the bread that the ground provides will be rich and nourishing. Your cattle will graze that day in wide pastures. Oxen and donkeys that till the ground will eat a salted fodder, winnowed with shovel and fork. On every lofty mountain, on every high hill there will be streams and watercourses, on the day of the great slaughter when the strongholds fall.” Not only would there be a rich harvest and animals providing food for the people; creation itself would be restored to its original integrity. “Then moonlight will be bright as sunlight and sunlight itself be seven times brighter–like the light of seven days in one–on the day the Lord dresses the wound of his people and heals the bruises his blows have left.”
However, it is notable that in spite of the bountiful harvest, the Lord instructed His disciples, “Go rather to the lost sheep of the House of Israel.” It is significant that the Lord Himself did not seek to venture beyond the confines of Palestine to spread the Good News. When the Syro-Phoenician woman sought His help to cure her daughter, He remarked, “‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.’ But she came and knelt before him, saying, ‘Lord, help me.’ He answered, ‘It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.’ She said, ‘Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.'” (Mt 15:24-27) While Jesus did not exclude Gentiles from His ministry of healing and liberation–as in the cases of this Canaanite woman, the Centurion, or the man possessed by evil spirits in Gerasenes–His primary focus was His own people. Israel was meant to be the instrument of salvation for the world, the light of the nations through whom God’s salvation would reach all peoples (cf. Isa 42:6; 49:6; 52:10; 60:3; Acts 13:47). But before Israel could fulfil this mission, she first had to be converted to the Lord and receive the light of Christ so that she could bear witness to the whole world.
The same applies to us in our missionary endeavours. While we must help spread the Gospel to the whole world because the Church is one and universal, this must not be at the expense or neglect of our own local Church. The best way to ensure that we have missionaries to send abroad to places where the Gospel is still unheard is to form our Catholics well in the faith, so that they become powerful witnesses for Christ. In other words, we must never neglect the Catholics–especially migrant Catholics–who are already among us. But our outreach must also extend beyond migrant Catholics to the many non-Catholics, both local and migrant, who live in our midst and have yet to encounter Christ.
In truth, in a globalised world, missionary work does not always require travelling to another country. Unlike Palestine and many societies of the past, which were largely homogenous in population and religion, today many countries–and especially Singapore–are multiracial, multi-religious, and multicultural due to immigration. Indeed, Singapore is the most religiously diverse country in the world. With this diversity, we have ample opportunities to witness to Christ among our locals and the 1.5 million migrants here. If we can bring them to Christ, they will, when they return to their homelands, be even more effective witnesses than us, facing fewer cultural and language barriers. It would truly be a lost opportunity for the local Church if so many migrants in our own backyard are seeking the Good News, but we are either ill-prepared or too weak in faith to reach out to them.
If we want the Gospel to spread to the whole world, we must begin with ourselves–renewing our Catholics in the faith. As it stands, many Catholics are nominal; almost two-thirds come to church only on Sundays, and some attend Mass only occasionally. Only about one-third attend services regularly. Among this third, we must ask: how many are truly committed to the faith, living the life of Christ, familiar with Scripture and Church doctrine, and spiritually mature enough to be genuine witnesses of love and truth? If our Catholics remain weak in the faith, we cannot expect the local Church to send missionaries abroad when we ourselves are depending increasingly on foreign missionaries. Indeed, due to the shortage of local priests–many of whom are aging–we have been importing more priests from overseas. But this can only be a short-term solution. The local Church risks regressing into a community built once again primarily by missionary clergy and religious from the developing world. Where then is the local Church? If we do not take leadership formation seriously, the faith of Catholics in Singapore–both local and migrant–will ultimately suffer.
Let us therefore pray as the Lord instructs: “Ask the Lord of the harvest to send labourers to his harvest.” Why does the Lord ask us to pray instead of promoting vocations through active publicity? It is because a vocation is not a career choice. It is not a job but a calling that springs from a personal relationship with the Lord. Drawn by Jesus, falling in love with Him, and inspired by His love and mission, a person freely chooses to share in His work. Without first falling in love with Jesus, there can be no true vocation or mission–only a career. This is why I often remind our Church organisations that we are not hiring workers, no matter how skilled they may be; we are seeking collaborators who are passionate and convinced about our mission.
What we need, therefore, is to help our people fall in love with Jesus. This can only happen when we become a praying and worshipping community. Intellectual knowledge of the faith alone does not make someone a missionary disciple. While not excluded, study must flow from one’s love for the Lord and His mission, fuelling the desire to be better equipped for evangelisation. If we want to bring hope to the nations, then we must first revive hope among our own Catholics.
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.
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