14th Sunday in Ordinary Time - A People on Mission

July 8, 2001
Fourteenth Sunday of the Year
Isaiah 66:10-14 / Galatians 6:14-18 / Luke 10:1-12,17-20

INTRODUCTION - Mother Zion and the Coming Judgment

The first reading gives us the image Of Jerusalem as a loving and nurturing mother. Similarly, the Church would be viewed as the new Jerusalem, the first glimmerings of Christ's kingdom breaking into our world. Missing from our citation are the next two verses that juxtapose an entirely different vision. While we find security and comfort in the maternal analogy, verses 15 to 17 speak of the Lord coming in fire to judge all mankind. He shall wave a sword "and many shall be slain by the Lord" (verse 16). It was this messianic vision that many sought in Jesus but he surrendered his life on the cross and told us to forgive one another. However, the Second Coming of Christ retains the full force of this passage. If we are members of Mother Zion, we can be saved; if we reject her, and here we really mean Mother Church, then we will be subject to fire and the sword. Here we find a serious imperative for the mission activity of the Church. Similarly, the second reading tells us, "Peace and mercy on all who follow this rule of life (never boasting of anything but the cross), and on the Israel of God. The Gospel reading has Jesus sending out the seventy-two to proclaim the Good News. The urgency of the proclamation is illustrated by Christ's instruction against a walking staff and traveling bag and against wearing sandals or greeting people along the way. He gives them something of his power but warns them not to be proud, just content that their names "are inscribed in heaven."

BODY - The Mission of the Church

The mission of the Church is to spread the Gospel and to baptize in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. As Christians, we are sent on mission at the end of Sunday worship each week: "The Mass has ended. Go in peace to love and serve the Lord." We must take our role as missionary seriously. As a people empowered by the Holy Spirit, we are compelled to share our faith if it is real and important to us. Our faith is a great treasure, but unless we share it with others, it might very well whither and die. If something great happened in your life-- like someone proposing marriage, or the birth of a new baby, or you won the million dollar lottery-- you would probably shout about it from the rooftops. The happiness and excitement would be too intense to contain. However, our saving faith in Jesus Christ and the Church is just as important, if not more. Where is our passion for the Gospel? Why are we not on fire telling people about it? Faith is a free and undeserved gift of the Holy Spirit; and yet, God has given us the privilege of being his instruments in the world. Our personal witness of prayer, speech and service should not be timid. God very much wants us to extend his offer of love and salvation to others.

You might think you are unworthy or incapable of really fervently sharing God's Good News. Certainly, we all relate to our brothers and sisters in different ways. But what does it matter? We all have something to contribute. Because of in-depth knowledge of our teachings and the Scriptures, some may be called to add apologetics to the work of winning converts. Others might find themselves in jeopardy if they walked that root, but might be exceptional in helping people with their hurts and in touching others through personal charity. Some may relate well with young people who often look for answers in the wrong places. Still others may be able to reveal in ecumenical prayer and service the fraternity of Catholics with other believers in the Lord. We need to bring the Gospel to our homes, our neighbors, and to our workplaces.

However, if we are going to share our faith, we had best make sure that we are Christians and good Catholics first. We need to nurture a determination to stick with the Church no matter what disappointments may come our way. Some do not do this and the results can be tragic for all. I recall a woman who studied at a Catholic college for four years and was certified to do parochial work. When the new pastor was assigned, he failed to keep a position for her. Along with this disappointment, the Pope reaffirmed that women could never be priests. Well, that was the last straw for her and she left the Church. What is sadder is that she took a few others with her. There are only so many clergy and most of the outreach into the community must be done by the laity. We have to be flexible enough to bounce with the bumps in the road. Doors close and other doors open. We have to be receptive to God's will, even when we do not entirely understand it. The work is not so much ours, as it is the Lord's. Some are given the gift of Holy Orders, but there are other gifts, particularly given to the laity, that facilitate the expansion of the Church and the proclamation of the Good News. Married couples are missionaries to their children. Many non-Catholic spouses embrace the faith of their Catholic partner. Single people have the gift of time and availability to help in youth groups, bible study programs, prayer circles, charity endeavors, etc. With the loss of sisters and religious brothers, the laity teach in Catholic schools, CCD and RCIA programs, etc. There are even parishioners that go door-to-door with the invitation to explore the faith and their parishes.

Spreading the faith requires that we grow in the faith, ourselves. We should search in ourselves and with others for a stronger faith and then share it, loving and caring for those with whom we come into contact-- keeping in mind that the burden of conversion is held between the individual and God. God changes a wicked person into a saintly one. Our care for the poor, the sick, our families, our neighbors; by our pursuit of social justice, for peace, etc.; in all these things we witness for the Gospel.

Souls are not simply converted by highly educated or witty missionaries; rather, they are brought to the Lord through the work of Christ in holy men and women inspired and sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Look at Peter, he was an ignorant fisherman! Neither Mary nor Joseph was ordained a priest; and yet, who could estimate the enormous spiritual benefits that both of them have exerted for our well being? The Holy Spirit is the Divine Counselor, who like Father and Son, makes use of frail instruments to achieve his purposes.
While the kingdom of Christ will be realized in God's good time, the laity and clergy work together for this eventuality. Having spoken about our universal call as missionaries, I would like to say a few words about priestly ministry. Have you ever wondered what it must be like as a priest? He knows the dark secrets of people's lives and weeps over their sins and the sheep that go astray. He sees more than his share of sickness and dying, particularly those with a regular hospital ministry. Yes, he knows the joy of witnessing marriages; but he also feels the arrogance of those who violate the commandments in dating promiscuity and cohabitation. He sometimes wonders if the young even listen to him. The happiest times are when he baptizes a child; and yet, he can never forget the babies he could not save from abortion. When things go right, God gets the praise and when they go wrong, the priest gets the blame.
People angry with the Church see him as an icon for the institution and assault him for things he had no part in, possibly going back to before he was born. This often happens when priests wearing clerics are recognized in public. I recall one fellow on the subway who sat next to me and without any introduction, shouted, "I left the Church thirty years ago, and let me tell you why!" In such situations, the priest wants to get away or argue back, but he just sits back and listens. "A priest yelled at me in the confessional," the man says, although he cannot recall what it was about. Such a little thing, and for all we know the poor priest probably had his own demons plaguing him at the time or was maybe just not feeling well. In any case, it was enough to make this man leave the Church. I explained how sorry I was that it happened, and the tone of the conversation changes. I miss my metro stop, but it is okay. His wife recently passed away and he had a bad heart. His mind often went back to his childhood days. Eventually, he asks, "Father, how do I come back to the Church?" What happened? I could not recall saying anything particularly moving. It must have been God's grace. I take out my purple stole. Hie eyes open wide. We move to a vacant section of the train, he falls to his knees, and says, "Bless me Father, for I have sinned." When I leave the train a prodigal son is back home. I catch a subway car going in the opposite direction, back to my exit. When I enter the rectory, I am chastised for my tardiness. I say nothing.

CONCLUSION - All the Baptized are Missionaries

As a sign of contradiction in our culture, the priesthood can be difficult. However, there is also a deep consolation in being an instrument of God's mercy in a sometimes cold world. The same difficulty should be a daily element in the lives of all Christian believers. Evangelization is not just the business of professional religious people. It is an indispensable part of our baptismal call. We can work together to make it a more heart-warming place for all those wounded and searching.

ASIDES (use as needed)

Cardinal George´s Meditations at Papal Retreat: "Conversion Implies a Freedom to Give"
March 6, 2001 (Zenit.org).

Is it possible to forgive the murderer of one's own child? This was one of the questions addressed this morning by Cardinal Francis George, archbishop of Chicago, on the second day of spiritual exercises preached to the Pope and the Roman Curia.

The image of Michelangelo's Pietà -- the Virgin holding her dead Son after the crucifixion -- gave the cardinal the chance to talk about a 1996 event, when Mario Ramos killed his friend Andrew near Chicago. The entire parish and its priest prayed intensely so that there would be reconciliation following the young man's death. Two letters, in fact, were written: one by Mario Ramos from prison, and the other by Andrew's mother, which sealed the repentance of the former and the forgiveness of the latter. "Only grace can break the cycle of violence," Cardinal George said, "only something that goes beyond man and his categories; only Christ's cry who, innocent, forgave those who were killing him. If we perceive things simply with human categories, to proclaim Jesus' words on love for our enemies would be completely useless and vain. We do not proclaim the wisdom of this world, nor of the rulers of this world, which perishes. On the contrary, we proclaim the mysterious and hidden wisdom of God. We keep the living memory of past grace -- 'Father, forgive them' -- and of a new possibility in the future -- 'Love your enemies.'"

The theme of this year's retreat is "A Faith for All Peoples: Conversion, Freedom and Communion."

Eleven Things I've Learned from Noah's Ark, Author Unknown

1. Don't miss the boat.
2. Remember that we are all in the same boat.
3. Plan ahead. It wasn't raining when Noah built the Ark.
4. Stay fit. When you're 600 years old, someone may ask you to do something really big.
5. Don't listen to critics; just get on with the job that needs to be done.
6. Build your future on high ground.
7. For safety's sake, travel in pairs.
8. Speed isn't always an advantage. The snails were on board with the cheetahs.
9. When you're stressed, float a while.
10. Remember, the Ark was built by amateurs; the Titanic by professionals.
11. No matter the storm, when you are with God, there's always a rainbow waiting.

Miscellaneous Quotation - Albert Einstein

"Being a lover of freedom, when the [Nazi] revolution came, I looked to the universities to defend it, knowing that they had always boasted of their devotion to the cause of truth; but no, the universities were immediately silenced. Then I looked to the great editors of the newspapers, whose flaming editorials in days gone had proclaimed their love of freedom; but they, like the universities, were silenced in a few short weeks.... Only the Church stood squarely across the path of Hitler's campaign for suppressing the truth. I never had any special interest in the Church before, but now I feel a great affection and admiration for it because the Church alone has had the courage and persistence to stand for intellectual and moral freedom. I am forced to confess that what I once despised I now praise unreservedly."

BISHOP BLASTS CATHOLIC VOTERS WHO VOTED PRO-ABORTION
ARLINGTON, Virginia, Jan. 16, 01 (CWNews.com/LSN.ca) -

Retired Bishop Thomas J. Welsh, the founding bishop of the Arlington Diocese, has expressed great frustration at the voting pattern of most Catholics in the United States during the recent election. "What disturbs me, then, is the politician, man or woman, who wants to have it both ways. They say, 'I'm a Catholic,' then espouse all sorts of things that the Catholic Church says are wrong. Our message isn't getting out. If you say the Church is wrong about one serious issue like the pro-life stance, then you're undermining the whole nature of the Church. The Lord didn't say, 'I'm with you all the time, except on some major issues.' ... The Church is supposed to be guiding people on a day-to-day basis on how to get to heaven ... We are saying this (abortion) is intrinsically evil. There's no time for anybody at any place to have an abortion and say, 'this is right.' It's always, always wrong."