11th Sunday of Ordinary Time, A June 18, 2023
Fr. Alexander Albert St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette
“The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.” Who do you think are these laborers he’s talking about? What are we praying for more of? If you think it’s “priests,” you’re not wrong. After all, Jesus immediately follows this with appointing 12 Apostles and giving them authority to be his laborers. Pray for vocations. I know there are young men in this parish right now who are called to the priesthood. They need your prayers and support, though without excessive pressure. This priest and indeed all priests need your prayers for us to actually be laborers rather than merely passive functionaries. Still, although this scene is about needing more priests, that is not all it’s about.
Indeed, focusing exclusively on the priesthood in this passage can all too easily become a way to excuse ourselves. It’s easy to say prayers for more priests, so we hear this, nod along, say a few Hail Marys and move along unbothered by that pesky little voice of conscience.
Not only is authentic prayer more involved than that, this passage has another application, one that touches on the responsibilities of every Christian. Yes, the word “apostle” is usually a special title, but it also has a more generic meaning: one who is sent. We know that the Church has a real hierarchy with real authority given to it by Jesus Christ… that there are things only Bishops and Priests can do. Far be it from me to pretend that structure and authority don’t matter. But again, it’s all too easy for Catholics to hide behind our structures and systems and leaders.
Jesus gave a unique mission to the ordained clergy. But he also gave a mission to all of you. Every single person who has ever been baptized has been given a mission, one reinforced by Confirmation and repeated throughout Scripture and the Church’s teaching. You are all called to be laborers in the vineyard, to proclaim the kingdom of heaven, to testify to the ways that God has cared for his sheep, including yourself, so that others might recognize him as their shepherd. Besides the practical reality that most priests spend most of their time caring for people who already belong to the Church – ask me the last time I had a serious chat with a non-Catholic – there’s the fact that a very large part of society is basically inaccessible to most priests. We aren’t in your workplace or at most of your social or family gatherings. You and only you have the access to the unique circle of relationships that make up your life. There are people who would never take the advice of a priest who very well might treat you as a confidant, people who never see the example of a priest but who do see your example, your way of life.
This even includes real authority. I don’t want anyone attempting major exorcisms on their own, but don’t discount the authority given you in Baptism and Confirmation… the real authority you have through learning and practicing your faith. Every time you pray an Our Father and say “deliver us from evil,” you are invoking God’s authority to drive out evil. There’s nothing stopping you from asking for healing and miracles. The words “be healed in the name of Jesus” are not copyrighted or reserved only to priests and saints. You can say them… pray them in front of other people. We really should be drawing on this authority more often. Don’t be overdramatic and flashy when you pray this way, but it’s not as bad as you might think when you say those words and nothing seems to happen. Even if nothing immediately changes when you say “be healed,” you are growing in faith by trying. People are more likely to give you credit for trying than mock you or make some dramatic renunciation of the faith. Do not be afraid!
Now then, I find it providential that we hear these readings on the weekend of Father’s Day. Men, Fathers, we are grateful for you and you deserve our honor and respect. But men, you and I need to hear this.
Jesus is talking to you. He is asking you to follow him, not your mom, friend, or wife. He is asking you to proclaim the kingdom, not your pastor. On the natural level, when a woman comes to you to say she is pregnant, what is she really telling you? That you should ask someone else to do the work of raising the child? No, she’s asking you to get ready to be a father. She’s making the need known, introducing you to a reality larger than yourself, and giving you time acquire the authority and maturity of a laborer in the vineyard of a family.
The natural pattern teaches us about the spiritual. When Jesus tells people to pray for more laborers, do you really think he wants us to just pray? When you go to your boss to tell him that something needs to get done in your job, how will he respond? He’s going to tell you to do it. If he’s a good boss, he’ll give you the authority to do it. Jesus tells us to pray for laborers in order to prepare us for that dynamic. Praying shows us there is a need and teaches us to care about that need. It instills in us that we should not take authority for ourselves, but that we should seek out God’s authority to respond to whatever that need it.
In fact, that might be the best definition of what it means to be a father: a father is a man who has received the authority to work for the good of others. This happens naturally with children, but really every man is called to be a father. Men, Jesus wants you to go through the process of becoming the laborer that you’re asking God for. If that’s priesthood, great. If that’s life as a husband, great. If that’s hard work, networking, or travel to make life and the world better, great. In every case it is a call to fatherhood, to the unique authority given to men in God’s design. Women have their own kind of authority, but they cannot replace you just as you cannot replace them. God is offering you men an authority only you can receive.
Even if your call to Fatherhood doesn’t involve a pregnant woman, it does involve growing up to see the work that needs to be done. Don’t shrug it off saying “someone else will do it” or “religion is woman’s business.” Be a man who sees the need, admits it is bigger than him, and turns to prayer. Ask God the Father to send out laborers for that harvest. But guess who he’s going to send. You. It probably won’t be when and what and how you expect, but he will send you. So, see the need, pray, and get to ready to become the man – the father – you were meant to be.