FIFTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
15 JULY 2018
Last
Sunday, Saint Mark told us about Jesus returning home to Nazareth. The locals had heard of his success in
preaching the kingdom of God. They even
knew that he had raised a twelve-year-old girl from the dead. But, they could not believe in him. They knew him too well. They could not see beyond their own
mediocrity. The Incarnation made no
sense to them.
Instead of
fretting over his rejection or plotting to get even with his homeys, Jesus
shakes the dust of rejection off his feet and continues his mission. He has already chosen the twelve who are
willing to put more faith in him that his human family. They may not understand
fully the Incarnation any more than his homeys do. But, he trusts them enough to proclaim the
kingdom of God. He sends them out to
drive out unclean spirits and cure those who were sick.
We are like
the Twelve in more ways than we suspect.
Like them, we do not have professional qualifications to confront demons
or cure the sick. Except for Simon
Peter, James, and John, we know very little about the rest of the Twelve (aside
from Judas, of course). Like them, we do
not always understand the ways in which Jesus works in our midst. But, he sends us as apostles (“those sent
out”) from this Church every Sunday to confront the demons of our world and to evangelize
the culture in which we live.
Jesus sends
the twelve out, not as isolated individuals, but in pairs. Together, they can support one another. They will learn how to live together in
community, sharing the positive bonds that hold them together and facing the
challenges that might tear them apart.
The same is true for us. We
gather at this Mass, not as isolated individuals, but as a community of
believers. The Lord speaks to us, just
as he spoke to the twelve. Through our
sharing in the Eucharist, he strengthens our common bonds. In admitting our brokenness and facing our
sins that cause conflict and division, we can confront the demons of our
culture in humility. We can proclaim the
kingdom of God without arrogance or judgment to a broken world that needs
healing.
The Lord
tells the twelve that they do not need anything for their journey – only a
walking stick. They do not need food, a
sack, or money in their belts. They need
to learn to trust in God and in the basic goodness of people, not on their own
resources and resourcefulness. The same
is true for us. We don’t need to rely on
money or power or lots of things. Ironically,
those are part of the demons we need to confront. Our culture teaches us that wealth, resources,
power, and control over other people are the most important realities in life. Nothing else matters. However, in the last few weeks, we received
an insight into what is most important.
The attention of the world was on those twelve Thai soccer players and
their coach. What mattered most was the
effort to save their lives. We mourned
the loss of the brave diver who drowned trying to rescue them. The parents forgave the coach for putting
their sons at risk. Parents throughout
the world hugged their children in appreciation for the gift of their
children. We rejoiced when they were
saved. Those lives mattered, not wealth
and power and control.
Finally,
the Lord knows that not everyone will accept his message. He knows that the twelve will suffer the same
fate as he would suffer. He tells them
to shake the dust from their feet, as he has just done, and continue their
mission. The same is true for us. We will not always find a warm welcome and a
ready embrace of the message we try to bring.
When that happens, we cannot become bitter, angry, and pessimistic. We must move on and trust in the Lord’s
presence in our efforts to live and proclaim the Gospel. Through God’s grace, we have been successful
in building this beautiful church. Now,
more than ever, the Lord sends us out to be Church, to share the beauty of the
kingdom of God with those whose lives we encounter.
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