Fr Marco Lazzaron
fter a series of celebrations that led us to contemplate the heart of the mystery of God, the liturgy brings us back to Ordinary Time and invites us to reflect on the opening lines of Jesus’ missionary discourse. The themes woven through these few verses are many and truly fascinating, but I would like to highlight only three.
– Jesus’ gaze. Matthew emphasizes that the Master, looking at the crowds, noticed that they were “weary and exhausted, lost like sheep without a shepherd.” Jesus knows how to see, how to stop, how to notice people — what they are going through and what they need. His gaze is moved by compassion and tenderness. This is his wonderful way of embodying the Father’s mercy. Later, he will ask his disciples to go in search of the lost sheep; the Master is very clear: the mission is not just going anywhere, but seeking out and helping those who are lost.
– Words and deeds. The Master asks his disciples to proclaim that the Kingdom of Heaven is near, that God has made himself reachable in the flesh, in the person and history of Jesus. And this revolutionary proclamation is manifested in service to the life and dignity of every human being: healing, raising the dead, cleansing, and setting free. The Kingdom of God becomes present in the disarming beauty of service to human life.
– Gratuity. Everything we are and have is a free gift. None of us, no matter how hard we try, could ever buy even one hour of life or earn our own salvation. This should make us humble; the Master invites us to be missionaries without seeking anything for ourselves: neither honour, nor privilege, nor applause. He has given everything to us freely, and he simply asks us to put it back into circulation with the same generosity.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, teach us to look at others with your compassionate gaze to notice the weary, the forgotten, and the lost. Make our words and actions reflect your Kingdom so that through us others may encounter healing, dignity, and hope. Keep our hearts humble and free, so that we may give as freely as we have received, seeking not praise or reward, but only to serve you faithfully. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.