Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Last week in my homily for the Solemnity of Peter and Paul, I had said, “Life has meaning when we are willing to live and die for something bigger than ourselves.” I had said that at the end of our lives, like Paul, we too should be able to say, “I have competed well. I have run the race. I have kept the faith.”
The scripture readings today help us to reflect on the meaning of Christian living a little more deeply. I would like to reflect on this in three points.
A Purpose Driven Life
In today’s gospel reading (Lk 10:1-12), when Jesus sent the seventy-two disciples out in pairs, he was doing more than making them partners in his ministry. In reality, they were being made 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. At the end, the disciples came back rejoicing because they saw the impact of their work in the world.
Let us apply this to meaning of our lives. When we think of ourselves, how do we imagine ourselves? We may think of ourselves as parents, spouse, elder, or single or youth. We may also think or ourselves by what we do – teacher, nurse, engineer or whatever it is we do for a living. Today’s gospel invites us to think of ourselves first and foremost as people integral to God’s mind, God’s heart, God’s saving love, and God’s redeeming mission. We are chosen, we are sent.
This mission should be the primary purpose of our lives. This mission should give us 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. Who we imagine ourselves to be and what we do for a living should flow as an extension of us thinking of ourselves as put on the earth by God to be the heart, mind, love of God and to carry out Christ’s redeeming mission.
Life in Light of the Cross
Let us define this mission a little more clearly. In today’s second reading Paul 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 light 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, as a priest every interaction of mine with people, with my colleagues, my superiors, friends and enemies must be in light of the cross of Jesus Christ. Whatever relationships you have as parent, spouse, child, friend of foe must be in light of the cross of Jesus Christ. Whatever you do professionally must be fulfilled in light of the cross of Jesus Christ. Our entire life, every moment of it must be lived in light of the cross of Jesus Christ.
Preparing the Place for Christ
There is yet another way to understand the mission and purpose of our life. Luke says, “Jesus sent his disciples ahead of him to prepare the places he intended to visit” (Lk 10:1). This 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 climate change, we often hear it being said that we should leave the earth better than we found it. We can apply the same principle to the gospel. Can we leave our home, our workplace, our neighborhood, our nation, our world more prepared for Christ than it was before. We can make and leave the world a better place 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.
“Life has meaning when we are willing to live and die for something bigger than ourselves.” May the meaning of our lives emerge from "living in the light of the cross."
- Fr. Satish Joseph