Urgent work

Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, 'The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.'
(Matthew 9:35-38)

Can't remember where I heard I read this – it was either in Shaping of Things to Come (which I don’t have a copy of anymore) or at one of the Forge intensive open nights late last year (and I don’t usually take notes) – but the First Century Palestinian context is important in understanding this parable.
These days, because of genetic engineering and pesticides and stuff, farmers don’t have to be as on the ball about when they harvest a crop. When Jesus was around they didn’t have all that, so crops had to be harvested at exactly the right time. If they weren't, they’d get eaten up by pests, or they’d just go bad. So when Jesus says that there aren’t many workers, that’s an urgent problem.