For those that feel troubled & abandoned:

The grace of this gospel from Matthew is that Jesus reminds us that we are cared for, he has compassion for us, and he sends forth his followers to care for us as he has. When I have felt like a sheep without a shepherd, it is easy to wallow in my troubles and lose sight of the ways my community is showing up for me.

This Advent season of preparing is also an invitation to pause, to take stock, to consider what more we can be doing to be available to the Christ that comes into our realities. Who in your community has cared for you in troubled times? God is out here, looking for the lost sheep, where and how do you hear God’s call for you?

May you find consolation in a Christ who loves you and sees you. May your community care for you in the ways you need, and may you notice how they do so, even in the little ways.

For those ready to be laborers for God’s harvest:

My cousin, who has 3 young children, was recently sharing that she looks forward to the day when her children can be more effective helpers with chores. The labor she and her husband put into their family right now is immense. And it is generous. The way they labor to care for, nurture, and raise their children is selfless. They meet each child where they are, caring for each of them in their own needs – the oldest, in listening to his imaginative stories with patience and wonder; the middle, in encouraging her exploration and adventure, and tending to her when it becomes rambunctious; the baby, in cuddles, diaper changes, and reminding older siblings to be gentle. Their labor is compassionate, generous, and exhausting. And they recognize that their labor is and will be fruitful. Each of these children will grow into people who will care for others and tend to the fields of God’s people.

Jesus sent forth his disciples to labor for those troubled and abandoned. Who in your community is troubled and abandoned? How can you care for them with generosity and compassion, meeting them where they are, particularly in this season? How might God be calling you to labor for his beloved?

May the labor of God’s harvest be holy, may we approach it with generosity, and tend to it with the long vision of God’s Kingdom on the horizon.