Deacon Randy Kiel of Christ the King Parish in Des Moines returns to The Catholic Morning Show to complete his reflection on the Sunday Gospel from Matthew 9–10, diving into the extraordinary Greek term invented by the Apostles to describe Christ's compassion. He traces the calling and ordering of the Twelve Apostles, highlighting Bartholomew (Nathaniel) as a model of honest, doubt-carrying faith. Listeners are reminded that the journey of discipleship moves from learning, to following, to being sent — a pattern as alive today as it was two thousand years ago.
Deacon Randy Kiel from Christ the King Parish in Des Moines joins Deacon Mark Campbell for a special bonus segment, returning a second consecutive morning to complete his reflection on the upcoming Sunday Gospel from Matthew 9–10.
Key highlights from this conversation:
The Greek Word No One Had Before — When Jesus was moved with pity at the sight of the leaderless crowd, the Gospel writers faced a problem: no word in Greek — not even in the Septuagint — could capture what they witnessed. They coined an entirely new term, splagchnizomai, describing a compassion so visceral it moved Christ at the very core of his being. Deacon Randy unpacks what this means for how God sees and feels for each of us.
Disciples → Apostles: The Order of Sending — Jesus did not run to the crowd. He first organized his disciples, then called out twelve as Apostles (apostoloi — those sent). Deacon Randy explains that before anyone can be sent with the message of God, they must first be a student, a follower, and a learner. This divine ordering — learn, follow, go — is the pattern of every Christian vocation.
Bartholomew: The Saint Who Doubted Out Loud — Of all the Apostles called, Deacon Randy spotlights Nathaniel Bartholomew, whose famous line — "Can anything good come from Nazareth?" — reveals not deceit, but honest struggle. Jesus praised him for it. Deacon Randy draws a direct line from Nathaniel's honest doubt to our own faith journeys, reminding us that doubt's purpose is always to point us toward truth.
Tune in every Thursday morning for Deacon Randy Kiel's weekly Sunday Scripture preview on The Catholic Morning Show, live at 7 AM Central on IowaCatholicRadio.com or the Iowa Catholic Radio app.
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