Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
I’ve just spent the last month home with my dear mother. I picked her up at my brother’s home, where she now resides, and brought her to her own home. She got the chance to visit my dad’s grave, move around in her own space, and meet her relatives and friends. Not only that, we got her entire house re-painted. We cleaned every nook and corner, got the furniture polished, and rearranged things that way that made her feel good. As I have now returned back to ministry in Dayton, I am realizing how important the last month has been.
As I prepared this homily in light of today’s readings, I could not but connect my experience at home with my mom with the mission that Jesus entrusted to his disciples. I realize that my brother and I each have a role to play in my mom’s life. The better we do it, the better mom is going to be. The better we do fulfill our responsibilities towards mom, the better we are going to be. Similarly, when it comes to the Gospel and the world, each one of us has a role to play. It’s a role that Jesus himself has invited us to play. The better we do it, the better it is for the Gospel mission. The better we do it, the better the world is going to be. The better we do it, the better you and I are going to be.
Here are my three points for today:
- Let me begin my first point with my last statement. The better we live out the gospel, the better we will be. When Jesus entrusted sent his seventy-two disciples out in pairs, he was doing more than making them partners in his ministry. In reality, they were becoming part of the creative and redemptive plan of God. By going out in obedience to Christ’s command, these disciples became part of God’s mind, God’s heart, and God’s saving love for all humanity. The mission gave them a purpose. The mission gave them their identity. The mission added invaluable meaning to their lives. The mission gave them a reason get up in the morning. The mission took a hold of them. As Luke says, at the end, the disciples came back rejoicing because they saw the impact of their work in the world. The very first realization that we must have from today’s gospel is simply this – that each one of us, you and I are invited to be part of God’s mind, God’s heart, and God’s saving love, God’s redeeming mission. The mission is our purpose. The mission is our identity. The mission must be the source of the meaning of our lives. The mission should be the reason we get up in the morning. The mission should take a hold of our lives. The better we do it, the better we are going to be.
- The best way to understand what the mission of Christ entails is to focus for a moment on Paul’s words in the second reading. He says, “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Gal 4:16). There are three things in this statement – Paul, the world, and the cross of Jesus Christ. Central to Paul is the cross of Jesus Christ. Whatever interaction Paul has with the world and whatever interaction the world has with Paul happens in light of the cross of Jesus Christ. Saying “Yes” to the mission that Jesus entrusts to us is simply this – that no matter who we are, what we do, and not matter what state of life we find ourselves in, that we live our lives in this world from the perspective of the cross of Jesus Christ. And when the world comes into contact with us, they must become aware of the cross of Jesus Christ. For example, why did I spend the last month with my mother? Of course, because I love my mother. But I also honor her because of the cross of Jesus Christ. Honoring father and mother is a demand of the gospel. Why did I leave my mother behind to return back to ministry? Because of the Cross of Jesus Christ! The Gospel is Christ’s gift to me. I must be faithful to the mission entrusted to me at all costs. I invite each one of you to take a look at your particular life and reflect on Paul’s words, “I have been crucified to the world and the world to me!”
- My third point builds on a theme that is often preached about. Jesus sent his disciples ahead of him to prepare the places he intended to visit. It is a good way to understand Christian life – that any place that we visit is a place Jesus would find prepared for him. These days, in relation to the environmental challenges, we often hear it being said that we should leave the earth better than we found it. How about we apply the same principle to the gospel? Can we leave our home, our work place, our neighborhood, our nation, our world more prepared for Christ than when we came? Will the world be a better place than we found it because we prepared our space for Christ? When Jesus comes back, may there be room for him. When Jesus comes back, may he not be rejected. When Christ comes back, may he not be crucified again. When Jesus comes back, we must have the world prepared for him. The best place to begin is our own spaces – home, workplace, and the places we find ourselves in.
Let me end where I started. It is at the end of the month I spent with my mother that I realized how important the last month has been. Now imagine that the last month is an analogy for a life-time. When we look back at our life at the end of our lifetime, what will we realize? What will we see? At the end of our lives, will we see the life dedicated to the mission of Christ? May it be.
Fr. Satish Joseph