Family and other obstacles to grace
Proper 7A | Matthew 10:24-39
Last week’s gospel came after a whole bunch of healings and teachings and it said “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” Jesus looked out at the people and saw that “they were harassed and helpless”.
That phrasing might seem vague in English, but the grammatical construction of the Greek directs us to see this as a development, not a perpetual state. He sees that they haven’t always been harassed and helpless, but they are now. And look like they will be in the future.
In short, he sees people who are vulnerable and exploited.
These might be like the people Jesus describes at the Temple: the widows whose homes are devoured by the Temple leaders. People whose fortunes are pulled from them to fund the wealth of the 1%, we might say today.
This is the basis for Jesus saying to the disciples “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few”. Because their work of love is needed in these fields, with these people. People who have been exploited and mistreated by the wealth creation of the already wealthy.
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