In Matthew 10, Jesus sends twelve disciples out on a mission to do what he has been doing - to heal the sick, cast out demons and preach the kingdom of Heaven. This little band of disciples, inadequate as they were, are sent to shepherd the shepherdless sheep of God and bring in the overdue harvest of God. And after them the church, inadequate as we are, is called to do the same. We won’t do it perfectly, but we will follow the model Jesus sets out for us in Matthew: • We will look at the (seemingly unruly) people around us with eyes of Compassion, not judgment, knowing that sometimes we also need to offer compassion to ourselves • We will Pray, believing that God is the great shepherd who cares more about the people around us than we do. • We will make ourselves available to be part of God’s answer to those prayers.