The Harvest and the Idols: From Self-Made Gods to the Compassionate Shepherd

Hos 8:4-7.11.13, Psalm: 113, Mt 9:32-38

My dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

The prophet Hosea speaks with the anguish of a betrayed lover. Israel has set up kings without God’s approval, made idols from silver and gold, and built altars that only lead to sin. They have sown the wind, and they will reap the whirlwind. Their worship has become hollow—a flock of sacrifices that God does not accept. They have forgotten their Maker. The result is a nation reaping destruction, a harvest of emptiness.

In the Gospel of Matthew, a different harvest appears. Jesus goes through all the towns and villages, teaching, proclaiming the Gospel, and curing every disease and illness. He sees the crowds, and His heart is moved with pity for them, “because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd.” Then He says to His disciples, “The harvest is abundant, but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.”

The contrast is stark. In Hosea’s time, Israel had many false shepherds—kings and priests who led the people into idolatry. They were like blind guides, building altars that only increased sin. The people were scattered, not because God abandoned them, but because they chased after idols. They reaped the whirlwind of their own choices. But Jesus sees the crowds with compassion. They are not scattered because of God’s wrath; they are scattered because they lack true shepherds. The harvest is abundant, but the laborers are few.

Pope Francis often reflects on the compassion of Jesus. He says, “Jesus looks at the crowd and does not see statistics; He sees faces, each with their own story, their own suffering, their own hope.” Saint John Chrysostom, commenting on this Gospel, writes, “Christ did not say, ‘The harvest is abundant’ to show that the work is easy, but to show that many are ready to believe if only someone will go to them.” And Saint Gregory the Great, in his Pastoral Rule, warns that shepherds who seek their own glory rather than the salvation of souls are like the blind leaders Hosea condemned.

What does this mean for us? We live in a world filled with “shepherds” of many kinds who promise peace but lead to emptiness. We are tempted to fashion our own gods: the idol of success, the idol of comfort, the idol of control. Like Israel, we can sow the wind and reap the whirlwind, building our lives on foundations that cannot hold.

But Jesus looks upon us with pity. He sees our confusion, our loneliness, our search for meaning. He sees the harvest of souls ready to receive the Gospel, but the laborers are few. We are those laborers. We are called to be His compassion made visible—in our families, our workplaces, our communities. We do not need to be eloquent or powerful; we only need to let His pity flow through us.

This week, ask the Lord to send laborers into the harvest—and ask Him to send you. Look around you at the “troubled and abandoned” sheep: the colleague who is struggling, the lonely neighbor, the family member who has lost hope. Let your heart be moved with pity, as His was. And go. For the harvest is abundant, and the Lord of the harvest is with you. Amen.

May God bless you all!