The Nazareth Page  - A gospel meditation for your home

June 14, 2026 – Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time - Matthew 9:36-10:8

REFLECTION QUESTIONS:
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You might have noticed that there is a pattern in the way Jesus began his public ministry. It begins with Jesus and then his invitation to some close to him to help spread his message. Today’s gospel lists twelve individuals. Many see this as representing the twelve original tribes of Israel.

They seem simply a group of people close to him.  He did not seem to have a list of qualifications.  They came from varied backgrounds. After his resurrection and entry into heaven, they each (with the exception of Judas who was replaced by Mathias) moved out into the world enlisting new followers for Jesus.  They began locally and eventually included the whole world in spreading the gospel message and the healing power that accompanied it.

I rarely focus on myself in these pages, but with today’s gospel I am reminded that the work of a follower of Jesus still follows a similar pattern. Begin with what is immediate and then expand further as circumstances and opportunities allow.

In my earlier years I believed that I was being called to become a missionary priest.  I joined a vowed religious community (the Holy Cross Fathers) and was being prepared to serve the church in Africa. I studied not only the teachings of the church but also was educated as an anthropologist to help me understand more effectively cultures different from the one I was raised in.

Eventually, with the helpful guidance of my religious community, I came to know that my “calling” was to be something else. In a sense, more local. I “returned to the world” was how it was described back then and while I remained a follower of Christ, my interest and work became very local.

I devoted my life to living and learning about marriage and the family.  That way of life became my mission and ministry.  So, when I read about Jesus choosing his first followers and telling them to start local, I see a bit of myself in that approach to Christian discipleship. I see my weekly Nazareth Pages as part of my ministry. In a very real sense, each of us has a vocation to spread the gospel or “the good news” of Jesus. We are all invited to be apostles of Jesus.

David M. Thomas, PhD