R U JESUS?

July 15, 2024 – 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/071424.cfm)

There was once a school catechist who plans to teach the students about Jesus. So, she started like this, “Kids, I like to introduce you to someone you should know. He is a person who loves you most. Until now, he takes care of you sincerely. He is always present whenever you need him. He is the most kind and very good person whom you should know.” She have not finished yet piece yet, when a little girl raised her hands and said, “Mam, we already know him. He is Manong Joe, our neighbor the carpool driver. He is very good to us because he helps a lot of people. He even brings us to school everyday”.

The catechist was speechless for the students know already Jesus through the faith and life of their simple neighbor and carpool driver who tries his best to witness and live out his Christian faith.

Our readings today describes us the simple life of a prophet and missionary. Here in our first reading, Amos, who was just a mere shepherd became a prophet and was given a mission by God to preach His words to the Israelites. And in our gospel today, Jesus commissioned and sent out His disciples, who most of them were just mere fishermen, to preach the Good News to all people, to drive out demons and heal the sick.

This would mean that for Him to make known to us His salvation, God chooses and sends ordinary simple people to become His prophets and missionaries of His salvation. Through the simple faith and lives of these ordinary people, God continues to make known to us His salvation and we also come to know Jesus Christ.

Until now, Jesus continues His Mission of preaching the Good News of Salvation through us Christians, His disciples and believers. He intends that all of us Christians, not only priests or religious, but all of us baptized Christians become prophets and missionaries of God’s salvation. As children of God, we are also called, chosen and sent to be preachers and sharers of His salvation to others. By our baptism, every Christian, then is a missionary, a prophet of God’s salvation. We are also called to announce and preach Jesus Christ to others through our simple and humble witnessing of our Christian faith to our brothers and sisters.

This reminds me of a story about a family who went for an excursion. Because they were such in a hurry to catch the bus in the terminal, they bumped into a beggar along the way. Having taken their seats, the boy then noticed the beggar on her knees picking up the spilled-off alms. He said, “I have to help the beggar”. But his mom opposed, “Don’t mind her. You might miss the trip. Besides, she should not be there at all.” But out of sympathy, the boy went down and helped the beggar. It was then he realized that she was a blind beggar, and so he apologized what had happened. On his way back to the bus, the blind beggar called out for him and said, “Thank you very much, boy. But may I know, are you Jesus?”

Today, there are still a lot of our brothers and sisters who are still not familiar with & longing to meet Jesus. Like the blind beggar asking the question ‘are you Jesus?’, there are still people who have not and cannot recognize Jesus in our midst today. They long to know, to feel and to experience Jesus personally.

And only through our Christian faith, through our discipleship and witnessing our faith in Jesus Christ to them, by our person, they will come to recognize and know Jesus in their own lives. Through us, His prophets and missionaries, Jesus continues to reveal the Salvation our Father has bestowed on us and on our brothers and sisters.

We pray that like Manong Joe & that boy, in our simplicity we may grow in our faith in Jesus, for us to be worthy of being missionaries and prophets of God’s salvation to our brothers and sisters here & now always.

So Be It. Amen

With our simple faith in Jesus, let us now renew our faith, as we profess… I believe…