DOCTRINE AND FAITH
(Isaiah 66, 10-14; Galatians 6,14-18; Luke 10, 1-12.17-20: 14th Sunday of the Year C 2016)
(Isaiah 66, 10-14; Galatians 6,14-18; Luke 10, 1-12.17-20: 14th Sunday of the Year C 2016)
In today’s gospel, Jesus sends out his disciples to announce the coming of the Kingdom of God and they are to do so two and two in every city Jesus is to visit. It all means the disciples were to go before Jesus to prepare the way for him. They are to perform the type of work John the Baptist, the precursor Christ, did. Being disciples of Jesus, they must have received enough formation to fully execute this important function. Their formation consisted simply in the docile listening to the words of Jesus which, more or less, formed their faith and helped them to follow him convincingly. By virtue of our baptism we, Christians of today, are called to a life of intimate relationship with Christ. We need also to bear in mind that through our baptism we are called to be sent out in order to carry out a mission which is that of disposing our brothers and sisters to meet with Christ, thereby making them benefit from the gospel message of salvation. Disposing our brothers and sisters to meet Christ is mainly done through the witness of good Christian life. Seeing the Christian and watching him, people will discover what is particular and peculiar in him—transformation. This transformation, what Paul terms the new creature is a direct result of the encounter of Jesus with the Christian.
In the gospel story today, Jesus himself indicates the characteristics of the disciple who becomes a missionary. First of all, he has to adopt the proverbial meekness of the lamb. Jesus says: I will send you like a lamb in the midst of wolves. The proclaimer of the gospel is to follow the path of meekness and not of violence. The mission is no doubt difficult and arduous, especially in the world of today that prefers violence and show of prepotence. Jesus’ use of lamb and wolf metaphor is ad rem. The forces are disproportional. The meekness or gentility of the lamb is counter-posed to the aggression or show of prepotence of the wolf. It would look like the battle is lost from the onset. It would be so, if the lamb is bereft of the power of Christ who sent him. We need to be very clear on this point. No matter how aggressive and violent wicked forces oppose good ones and no matter the extent of difficulties we encounter in the announcement of the gospel, Christ is with us and no evil force will overpower us. We need to trust, rely upon and confide in him and in the power of his grace. Jesus again recommends that in carrying on the work of proclamation, there should be no waste of time through unnecessary exchange of pleasantries; this is because the proclamation of the gospel is urgent and does not allow such delays. In the directive: carry no purse, no haversack, no sandal, Jesus forbids the announcer of the gospel to provide any human or material security for himself. He is to be content with those things that are really necessary; he is also to live in poverty so that he would be free from superfluous things that could impede his movement and make his spirit less disposed for the announcement of the gospel. The announcer of the gospel is credible in so far as he does not rely on material and terrestrial means or human efficiency and to the extent he reposes confidence in divine providence. The next recommendation for the proclaimer of the gospel is that he has to be a man of peace. The peace meant here connotes interior peace, serenity of spirit, a gift of Christ which he won with his precious blood, a sign of the Kingdom of God and a sign of God’s power, especially the power of divine renewal. Whoever accepts the kingdom of God has peace. Indeed, the first greeting of the proclaimer of the gospel as he enters a home should be: Peace to this house…The next characteristic of the announcer of the gospel is that he should be a person who is attentive and sensitive to the necessities of people who are somehow weak and needy. He exhibits this character when he fulfils Jesus injunction: cure the sick. He is, therefore, to be a person who practices love/charity, beginning with the least and most needy.
The disciples of Jesus’ time were sent to the places where Jesus was to visit. They acted as precursors of Jesus. The disciples of our own time are the baptized Christians of today including we Christians of Nigeria. Where are we to carry out our missionary work as precursors of Christ? Do we go afar field? or do we bring the venue nearer home? The common dictum holds that charity begins at home; however, it should not stop there. There are certainly members of our family or family circles, nuclear and extended family members, colleagues in work places, in schools, in market stalls etc that are sick in one way or the other and need to meet Christ so as to be healed. Do we through our meekness and gentleness bring them closer to Christ by showing them love, and trying to assuage their material, spiritual, emotional and psychological needs. It is necessary that we Christians of today, no matter how low or high we are placed, know how to use every opportunity to give witness to our faith through simple and kind gestures of smiles, gentility, sympathy and favours which we show to people we come in contact with. What is more, life offers us wonderful opportunities of contact with diverse people in different environments where we can coherently and effectively bear witness to our faith. As we follow the injunction of Jesus to pray, so that the good Lord may send labourers to his harvest, may we personalize the prayer by requesting: Send me Lord! I am ready and willing to do your will and live out the recommendations of the discipleship as you stipulated in today’s gospel reading, in my circumstances of life.
+John I. Okoye
(GRAPHICS ADDED BY BLOGGER)
No comments:
Post a Comment