Isaiah 66:10-14 / Galatians 6:14-18 / Luke 10:1-12, 17-20
Whenever there is some work to be done, one of the first questions that will be asked is this: What is there to be gained from it, what is the reward?
And if the work is unrewarding, and there is nothing to be gained from it, then who would ever want to do it?
There is this story about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody. There was an important job to be done, and Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it.
Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody was got angry about that, because it was Everybody's job.
Everybody thought that Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn't do it.
It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done.
The story may sound funny but the underlying message is about responsibility and accountability.
And that story unfolds in companies and organizations, right down to the home.
Yes, the fact is that when there is some difficult and unrewarding and unglamorous work to be done, we are a bit of that everybody, somebody, anybody and nobody.
In the gospel, Jesus says that the harvest is rich, but the laborers are few.
And we know why the laborers are few - because everybody was sure that somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it but nobody did it.
And Jesus also pointed out why the laborers are few. Who would want to be like a lamb among wolves, and be subjected to stress and tension?
Who would want to do some rough and tough work and get nothing in return? Who would want to face rejection and criticism, despite the good intentions and sacrifices.
Given the above, it is not surprising that the laborers are few, though the harvest is rich.
And so it would be more convenient to just look away and let the harvest rot, than to be a solution to the problem. It is more convenient to run away from the fire than into the fire.
But just as Jesus sent His disciples into the harvest, so too Jesus is sending us to serve in the Church as well as in the world.
And it is not about doing some work. It is about the labour of love.
When we do a work because no one is there to do it, it is the labour of love.
When we do a work and no one is looking, that is the labour of love.
When we do some thankless work and our names are not even mentioned, or that someone else takes the credit, that is the labour of love.
So, whether in church or in the world, whether in the workplace or at home, there is a harvest and Jesus wants to send us to the harvest.
But He waits for us to say “yes”. It is not about everybody or somebody or anybody to say yes. It is about you and me.
It is about saying “yes” to Jesus and be laborers of love in the Lord's harvest.
And there is a reward actually. Our names will be written in heaven. As well as the names of those who we will bring along as laborers of love in the Lord's Harvest.