June 14, 2026 – Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
Readings: Exodus 19:2-6a; Psalm 100, R. We are his people: the sheep of his flock.; Romans 5:6-11; Gospel – Matthew 9:36-10: 8
Frederick Buechner, American author, Presbyterian minister, and theologian, wrote, “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” Today’s Gospel is a story of vocation and mission, Jesus calling the 12 disciples to share in his vocation and mission.
It is our story of vocation and mission, just as all Christian vocation and mission is a sharing in Jesus’ vocation and mission.
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Our vocation and mission
As we reflect on the source of this vocation and mission in the Gospel, we see how Jesus responds to the deep hunger of the people who “were troubled and abandoned like sheep without a shepherd.” (cf. Matthew 9: 36-10: 8) His response stemmed from his compassion as his “heart was moved with pity” for the crowds.
This scene is reminiscent of the scene in St. Ignatius of Loyola in his Spiritual Exercises, in which he asked us to contemplate the mystery of the Incarnation of Jesus. The Trinity was moved by what was going on in the world and, out of compassion, sent the Son on a mission to bring God’s mercy.
This too is the pattern of our sharing in the vocation and mission of Jesus as his followers. Jesus’ deep gladness was to be the Beloved Son; his deep joy was loving obedience to the Father’s mission for him.
When we reflect on how we share in this mission, it is an awesome experience, an amazing grace. We feel deeply at the same time a sense of unworthiness and humility, and a sense of grateful and loving surrender.
For St. Ignatius and many other mystics, we, at times, are blessed too with this grace; they are moved to tears out of joy and consolation. St. Ignatius called it consolation without previous cause. Only God’s grace, love, and presence are the source of this grace.
To live a certain facet of Jesus’ mercy in our lives
The second point to ponder is the nature of the vocation and mission. First, Jesus called the twelve by name, showing us how personal the call is. “I have called you by your name; you are Mine!” (Isaiah 43: 1). Even Carey Landry beautifully wrote in his song, “By Name you are mine, you are precious to me. By name, I have called you. By name I will send you, forever with you I will be.”
We are precious to Jesus, and he will always be with us. This is how deeply personal our sharing in Jesus’ vocation and mission is.
The second point on the nature of our vocation and mission is how Jesus gave us the authority and clear instructions to do the work of our vocation and mission. How we are to use this authority and follow the instructions is, likewise, very personal.
There is no generic vocation or mission. It is always personal. As many spiritual writers put it, we each live a certain facet of Jesus’ mercy in our lives. We witness God’s mercy and compassion in our vocation and mission according to our personal experience of this mercy and compassion in our lives.
This personal experience defines the quality of our relationship with God. Jesus’ experience of God was a loving Father, and it defined his identity as the Beloved Son. This was at the center of his life and mission.
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“The kingdom of heaven is at hand”
The third point for our reflection is the core proclamation of our vocation and mission: “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
In Jesus own ministry, this was his constant proclamation. At the very beginning, he proclaimed that the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. That it is in our midst. He constantly proclaimed this throughout his ministry and performed signs that the Kingdom is in our midst.
For us, this remains the center of our proclamation—that the Kingdom of Heaven is in our midst. We proclaim it both in words and deeds.
The building of the Kingdom is both a spiritual task and a very concrete task of building a society of justice and equality, peace and joy, hope and love.
As we reflect on our vocation and mission this Sunday, let us reflect too on what is going on around us. It seems to remain the same as in the Incarnation meditation of St. Ignatius of Loyola. We look at our society and people, our world and humanity, and we are “troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd.”
Amid this chaos of our nation and people, of our world and humanity, may our hearts be moved with compassion and may we be inspired to respond to Jesus’ call to share in his mission—to help build a society of justice and equality, peace and joy, hope and love.
Proclaim in word and deed that the Kingdom of Heaven is in our midst, and may our witness bring people to believe in and experience the Kingdom.
