July 10, 2019 – Wednesday 14^th Week in Ordinary Time

 

From the Gospel of Matthew (10:1-7)

Jesus summoned his Twelve disciples
and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out
and to cure every disease and every illness.
The names of the Twelve Apostles are these:
first, Simon called Peter, and his brother Andrew;
James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John;
Philip and Bartholomew,
Thomas and Matthew the tax collector;
James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus;
Simon the Cananean, and Judas Iscariot
who betrayed Jesus.

Jesus sent out these Twelve after instructing them thus,
“Do not go into pagan territory or enter a Samaritan town.
Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’”

The Gospel of the Lord.

Homily

An encounter with the Lord leads to discipleship and to be on mission. This is message for us today. But for us to grasp better the message, let us make a step by step discovery.

First, the call or the invitation is God’s initiative. It means that it is God who calls us and God chooses us to be His servant, to be his disciple. God’s way of choosing is not through the wealth we gathered, or how much power and influence we possessed. God calls us when we are open to him regardless of our profession, status and state in life. This is how Jesus summoned the ordinary 12 disciples and then sent them to proclaim the kingdom.

Second, we need the help of our family, friends, and community to lead us to God. An encounter with God, though that can be very personal but it is essentially always in the context of the community. Thus, seek the help of others. It will be easier for us to recognize God when we have a friend who will help us to see God.

Third, our God-experience or personal encounter with God is the most wonderful experience we will ever have. Because it is so wonderful that we cannot just keep it by ourselves. Our encounter with God leads us to action – it leads us to follow the Lord and leads us to tell others about what we have seen, heard, felt, and experienced with God. The 12 disciples’ personal encounter with Jesus led them to this point where that encounter moved them to action to become healers, witnesses and preachers.

Each of us today, whoever we are and wherever we are, as Christians we are called to preach Christ, to preach the Gospel by our life that we may become agents of healing and reconciliation, and bring other people closer to God.

This identity makes us different from the rest of other Christian denominations because the call to follow Jesus and to preach the Gospel is not only limited in our Eucharistic celebrations and other religious practices. My faith and your faith, is not only confined within the walls of our Church and within the letters of our prayers. Our Christian belief, our confidence in the risen Christ has called us to actively participate and to enthusiastically involve ourselves in all aspects of human life and the whole community not just in the spiritual aspect but also in cultural, social, economic and political aspect of life.

May we always remember this and become true Christians in the way we live our life, in the way we perform our work and in the way we relate with others and with one another so that we who have experienced God’s goodness will also become instruments in bringing other people closer to God. Hinaut pa.

Jom Baring, CSsR