The readings for the Fifteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time - Year B may be found at:
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/071424.cfm
In this week’s gospel from the evangelist St. Mark, Jesus is sending out the apostles on their first mission.
In this short passage, Jesus gives the apostles authority,
sends them out to heal and preach repentance,
instructs them to leave where they are not welcome
and to take nothing for the journey.
As I reflected on this, it got me thinking of what I take just to go to work.
Car, keys, coffee, lunch, backpack, water bottle, phone, wallet, security badge, computer, power cord, airpods, notebook, pen, I mean it’s endless and that’s just for a day at work.
Let alone for longer.
Let alone to be called like the apostles to discipleship in the name of Jesus and be sent out.
And Jesus calls all of us to discipleship.
To leave our comfort zones.
To go out and tell people about Him, to share our faith with them.
Because if we don’t, who will?
And he doesn’t expect us to do it alone.
He sent the apostles out in pairs to show we are not meant to journey alone in our faith and that we are called to support one another, to work together in spreading the good news.
Jesus sends the apostles out with authority.
With specific instructions for the journey.
He does the same to us.
Sending us forth after each Holy Mass, nourished by His body and blood in the most Holy Eucharist, to be his hands and feet in the world.
Unlike my packing for work, Jesus calls his apostles and us to embrace simplicity.
And this can be hard for us.
Jesus calls us to let go of what gets in the way of our ability to grow our faith or to serve others.
By traveling light, there is less to weigh us down - making more room for God’s grace to work through us.
Jesus has already given us much of what we need to share the transformative power of God’s love and mercy with others.
In baptism, we were given full authority to combat evil in this world.
Now, the world doesn’t always make it easy for us to reach out and share our faith and sometimes when we try to step out, we get rejected.
It happens.
Not everyone wants to hear it.
Not everyone is ready to give up the things that bring them comfort now;
for the promise of something greater for all eternity.
But Jesus took care of us there, too.
He tells the apostles and us to stay where we are welcomed and to leave where we are not.
He doesn’t ask us to be victims.
He only asks us to try.
To give and receive hospitality.
While preparing us that not everyone will accept the message of forgiveness and good news that we bring to them.
Sometimes that rejection might even come from fellow disciples.
But as Blessed Mother Theresa once said,
“God did not put us here to be successful; He put us here to be faithful.”
If a friend or family member is indifferent or hostile to discussions of faith - there is no need to force it.
Pray for them and seek other opportunities to share God's love through your actions. They may eventually come around.
Like the Apostles, it’s also our job to preach repentance.
And this is why we sometimes struggle as Catholics.
It’s not our job to judge or condemn or point fingers at people or to make sure they know they are wrong.
It is our job to invite others to experience the joy and freedom that comes from turning towards God.
To challenge ourselves to be living witnesses to the transformative power of God's love,
especially to those who may not want to hear that message.
To be comfortable being uncomfortable.
To preach of a forgiving God just waiting for us to turn to Him for absolution and comfort.
We may not be traveling two by two or shaking dust from our feet.
But our mission is all around us—in our homes, our workplaces, our communities.
When we leave Mass today, let us go with courage, simplicity, and faith, trusting in God and what he asks of us.
Knowing we live in a broken world where He is desperately needed.
Knowing that the only way someone may see the face of God today or this week is if we bring it to them and bring them to Him.
May God bless us and keep us as we live out our calling as His disciples.
