11th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A – June 14, 2026

 11^th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A – June 14, 2026

Exodus 19:2-6a; Romains 5:6-11; Matthew 9:36 – 10:8

 

Theme: We are Sent to Teach People to Keep God’s New Covenant

 

A.   A Brief Exegetical Analysis of Mt 9:36–10:8

 

1. Historical and Literary Contexts

Based on the Five Books that make up Matthew’s Gospel, as suggested by Benjamin W. Bacon, our Gospel passage comes from the Second Book, called “The Mission of Jesus and his Disciples in Galilee” (8:1–11:1). This second book includes a narrative section (8:1–9:38) and a discourse section (10:1–11:1). Therefore, the first part of our Gospel story (9:36-38) concludes the narrative segment (8:1–9:38), and the second part of our Gospel (10:1-8) begins the discourse segment (10:1–11:1). The story about the healing of a mute person (9:32-35) immediately precedes our text, while the account of Jesus announcing the coming persecutions (10:16-25) follows it.

 

2. Form, Structure, and Movement

Our Gospel passage is a narrative with images. It can be divided into three movements based on Jesus’ reactions to the troubled and abandoned crowds approaching him. The first movement highlights Jesus’ compassion for the crowds and his request that his disciples pray to God (9:36-38). The second movement involves his decision to send his disciples out on a mission (10:1-4). The third movement presents the commissioning instructions to the twelve disciples he sent (10:5-8).

 

3. Detailed Analysis

9:36-38. The success of Jesus’ teaching and healing ministry led many people to continue following him. Matthew emphasizes Jesus’ compassion for these crowds, depicting them as the “troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd” (9:36b). Using the imagery of harvest and laborers, he first helps his disciples recognize the need for a mission before asking them to pray to God, the Master of the mission, to send people on a mission.

10:1-4. Previously, Jesus indicated that the mission belongs to God, and it is God who sends missionaries (see 9:38), but here he is the one who sends his disciples on a mission. This confirms that Jesus and God the Father are one. The number “Twelve” for the disciples recalls the twelve tribes of Israel, suggesting that Jesus has the authority to call all Israel into the kingdom and to work for it. In v. 2, Matthew refers to the Twelve as “apostles” rather than “disciples,” as he usually does. This is because the word “apostle” means “the one who is sent,” which fits in this context where he is sending them out on a mission.

10:5-8. Jesus gives the Twelve Apostles instructions for their mission. (1) They should go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel only (vv. 5b-6). This does not mean that Jesus is against extending the Gospel to the Gentiles and Samaritans. Rather, Matthew emphasizes the beginning of the mission in Israel and later extends it worldwide (see Mt 28:19-20). The context of vv. 5b-6 is that when Matthew wrote this passage, the Jews did not accept their fellows who became Christians to worship with them in their synagogues. The Jewish Christians were “troubled” and “abandoned” (see 9:36). So, Matthew intended to let these Jewish Christians know that Jesus cared for them. (2) Their mission should consist of words (proclaiming the Gospel) (v. 7) and deeds (performing miracles) (v. 8). (3) Since their call for mission is God’s gift, they should minister to the people without cost. These three instructions characterized Jesus’ own mission. He was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (see Mt 15:24); his mission was of words and deeds (see, for instance, Mt 9:35); and it was free of charge.

 

4. Synthesis

Jesus feels pity for the crowds who follow him because they are troubled and abandoned like sheep without a shepherd. While it is God who is the Master of the mission (harvest) and the one who sends the “missionaries” (laborers) to work in his mission, Jesus, acting as God, sends his disciples out on a mission with instructions: They should minister to the people of Israel only, and their mission should be in words (proclamation of the Gospel) and deeds (miracles) without cost. 

 

B.    Pastoral Implications

 

1. Liturgical Context

The first reading discusses the covenant between God and the people of Israel. God fulfilled his part of this “sacred agreement” by making the Israelites his “chosen people” and his “holy nation.” He then gives a mission to Moses to remind them to do their part, which is keeping God’s covenant and observing his commandments entirely to benefit from this privilege of being the “chosen people” and “holy nation.” Today, we are in a new covenant with God through Jesus. In this “Sacred Agreement,” God did his part by “justifying” (reconciling) us to himself through the blood of his only Son, Jesus, on the cross, as Saint Paul reminds us in our second reading. To claim this justification and salvation, we are called to fulfill our part of the responsibility in our covenant with God. For this purpose, our Holy Mother Church sends each of us on a mission, just as Jesus sent his disciples in our Gospel, to constantly remind our brothers and sisters, as well as ourselves, to keep our covenant with God by obeying God’s commandments.

 

2. What the Church Teaches Us Today

In our Gospel, Matthew tells us that upon seeing the crowds coming to him, Jesus feels compassion for them because they were “troubled” and “abandoned,” like sheep without a shepherd.” (Mt 9:36). Then, he requests his disciples to pray to God, who is the Master of the mission (harvest), to send the missionaries (laborers) out on a mission because the mission is abundant, but the missionaries are few (9:37). Jesus has discovered that the people of his time and today are in desperate need of spiritual leadership. This should be our concern, too. There are few ordained and lay ministers in our diocese, parishes, and societies today compared to the population or the sheep of God that must be taken care of. Jesus asks you and me to pray to God, the mission Master, to send ordained and lay ministers to work in our parishes, families, and societies. Our youth need engaged catechists to teach them faith formation. Our young adults need good leadership in their ministry. All adults in our parish need ongoing faith formation to stay updated on the teachings of the Church and their calling. Let us continue to pray to God to send ministers who can care for our spiritual needs.

Since there is an urgency to care for people, Jesus sends out his disciples and gives them authority over unclean spirits to cure every illness and disease (Mt 10:1). The name “disciples” means “followers,” and “apostle” means “sent out.” In our baptism, we became Jesus's “followers” and his “sent out” to continue his ministry wherever we live.

Jesus gives his apostles some instructions regarding the mission. First, they should not go to the Gentiles’ territory or the Samaritans’ towns but focus on the “lost sheep of the house of Israel” only (10:5-6). This does not mean that Jesus is against extending the Gospel to the Gentiles and Samaritans. Rather, Matthew emphasizes the beginning of the mission in Israel and later extends it worldwide (see Mt 28:19-20). Likewise, the Church teaches us that our mission starts in our families and extends to our Church communities and societies. This mission consists of ministering to our people for their spiritual and physical needs. Our first reading tells us about one spiritual need we should focus on in our mission: to remind our people and ourselves to keep our covenant with God by obeying God’s commandments. 

Our first reading account is the beginning of the third part of the book of Exodus. The newly released Exiles arrived at Mount Sinai three months after leaving Egypt. They set up camp at the holy mountain of God. God revealed his covenant to them. He called Moses apart from them and instructed him on what to tell his fellow Israelites to foster their relationship with him. Like the Israelites, we, too, are on our spiritual journey from this world to heaven. Every Sunday, we set up camp at the foot of our “Mount Sinai,” which is our Church where we encounter God in the celebration of the Eucharist, during which God speaks to us through the “Moses” of our time, our parish priests.

God first reminded them of the marvelous things he did for them, such as the liberation from the slavery of Egypt. “You have seen how I treated the Egyptians and how I bore you up on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.” (Exodus 19:4, NABRE). At Mass, we are reminded of how God blesses us every day, especially how he freed us from the slavery of sin. This reminder aims to create an attitude of gratitude in us. Therefore, every Sunday Mass should be an opportunity to praise God and thank him for all his blessings during the week, particularly for liberating us from the slavery of sins.

Second, God made a promise to the people of Israel: “Now, if you obey me completely and keep my covenant, you will be my treasured possession among all peoples, though all the earth is mine. You will be to me a kingdom of priests, a holy nation.” (Exodus 19:5-6, NABRE). A covenant is a sacred agreement between God and the people of Israel. In that agreement, God promised to bless them and lead them to the promised land; in return, they promised God that they would observe all his commandments. Here in this reading, God calls them to fulfill their part of the agreement as he has already fulfilled his. We, too, are in a “new covenant” with God through Jesus. God has already done his part of the responsibility by justifying and saving us through the death of his only Son, Jesus Christ, as Saint Paul reminds us in our second reading. We now need to claim our “justification” (reconciliation) and salvation by fulfilling our part of the responsibility in our “sacred agreement” with God. Remember, in baptism, we promised to reject Satan and all his works; we vowed to keep our baptismal candle lit and our white garment unstained until the return of our Lord. In one word, we promised to obey God all our lives. To gain this salvation that the “justification” (reconciliation) brought us, we are called to continue rejecting the works of Satan, doing our best to keep the light of our baptismal lamp bright so that all people may see Jesus through us, and avoid allowing sin to stain our souls. Whenever we fail to do so, meaning we sin, we should immediately cleanse our souls in the sacrament of confession. In our new covenant with God, he has already fulfilled his part of the responsibility; let us fulfill ours.

May the liturgy of this Mass help us become aware of our mission to continually remind our brothers, sisters, and ourselves to fully obey God and uphold our new covenant with him through Jesus. Amen.

Rev. Leon Ngandu, SVD

Pastor of Holy Family Catholic Church in Jackson, MS &

SVD USS Biblical Apostolate Coordinator