Sunday Gospel Comment

All com-mitted to Jesus’ Mission

Last Sunday we began to read the “centre” of Luke’s Gospel (9,51-19,40).  It will occupy our homilies till the end of the Church’s year.  Right through this section Luke puts before us the framework of a long, tough, courageous journey, in which we either choose ourselves the way to go or others will impose their way on us.  It’s as if we cut for ourselves a way through the world’s jungle or desert and in it only the fittest survive. 

Last Sunday, Luke said that Jesus made his ‘resolute decision’ to march into his destiny towards Jerusalem, Calvary, Death and Resurrection.  Luke then goes into great details to explain how this ‘resolute decision’ of Jesus confused his disciples who abandoned, denied and even betrayed their Lord.  Still, Jesus’ destiny did occur, as indeed it was meant to.  God had already mapped out his destiny for Jesus in the scriptures, in order for him to become our Saviour and for us to become God’s children.

Most importantly in today’s Gospel, Luke turns to Jesus’ disciples of all time - and yes, today he turns to our generation - challenging us to take on Jesus’ Mission into our society.  As he gives us the charge, he also hands over to us Jesus’ own instructions about His mission. 

We Catholics, as we receive Jesus’ blueprint of Christian Mission in today’s Gospel, must carefully consider a number of points: We are all sent on Jesus’ Mission which is first and foremost directed to the members of our extended families.  We are all called to nurture, support, encourage, enhance and challenge Christian formation in one another in our families.  And so, ‘Missionaries’ are not solely those who go to ‘foreign’ countries to preach the Gospel.  Jesus’ Mission has been ‘com-mitted’ to us all at Baptism.

  Mass and Mission go together

We are all Missionaries.  We received our Christian ‘Com-Mission’ at Baptism and Confirmation, but most of us then we were only kids.  Really this com-mission takes place at Mass.  Yes, the truth is that every time we come to Mass, we come to sit at God’s table, at Our Lord’s Supper: first at the table of the Word and second at the table of Eucharist.  At Mass, we are nourished and strengthened, loved and empowered by the Lord Himself.  Then charged as we are of God’s loving compassion and intimacy, we are ‘sent forth’.  We conclude Mass with the ‘Dis-missal or Com’mittal’ which is not just empty words.

Today let us sing and find inspiration in the poetics of the Hymn “Go now you are sent forth”: to live what you proclaim - to show the world you follow Christ in face not just in name.  We believe we are com-mitted to walk this troubled earth - as Christ’s ambassadors - and Christ goes with you too….  If our Christian ‘com-mitment’ (this too is from ‘Mass’!) makes us fall back into a more anonymous Christianity, then lets be prepared to be swept away by people with stronger views than ours. 

I share here the hurt of two strong Catholics, a grand-pa and a grand-ma whom I met in the last two weeks.  Grandpa, a staunch Catholic from Belfast said: it hurts me to see how even now ‘that well known Clergyman’ in Northern Ireland goes on TV, holding what he claims to be a stolen Consecrated Host, then he brakes and crushes it to pieces saying: do you hear any broken and crushed bones? Do you see lots of blood spurting out?.....Yes, as a Catholic this hurts me!....  The story of grand-ma is equally hurting: a deeply religious Italian lady still leading a prayer-group, said: my grand daughter, 15 years old, with good education in Catholic Schools, lately met a Muslim youth, became pregnant and got married and now she wares not just the “Hajab” but the “Burka”.

In life, if we do not choose others do it for us.