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Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time: Mass Readings
First Reading: Isaiah 66:10-14C
Psalm: Psalm 66:1-7, 16, 20
Second Reading: Galatians 6:14-18
Gospel: Luke 10:1-12, 17-20
Today’s scriptures are about announcing the Good News. They remind us that announcing the Good News of the Kingdom of God, by our words, our deeds, our life, is not just the task of a few people. It’s not just about the priests and deacons and consecrated religious. No! Announcing the Good News is required of all baptized Christians.
In the first reading from Isaiah 66:10-14, Isaiah proclaims the good news to those who are returning from exile in Babylon. He tells them that Jerusalem will take care of them as a mother comforts her baby. Isaiah assures them that they will live a life in in the certainty of Yahweh’s promises of love, protection, prosperity and salvation.
In the Psalm, we hear, “Sing praise to the glory of God all the earth,” because of the wonders He has done.
In the second reading from Galatians 6:14-18, Paul tries to address the confusion created by those Judaizers, those ultra-conservative Judeo-Christians who insist that there their way is the only way. Paul reminds them and he reminds us that the mission of all of us is to bear witness to the saving power of the Cross through a life of sacrificial self-giving.
In today’s Gospel from Luke 10:1-12 and 17-20, we hear the story of the commissioning of the 72. The disciples are told to go out and preach the Good News of God’s love and salvation. He also gives them travel tips. They’re supposed to be walking witnesses of God’s Providence. They’re supposed to be living simple lives, preaching the Good News and healing the sick. It’s a reminder to us that of the 1.5 billion Christians in today’s world that all the baptized have the same message mission as the 72: to proclaim Good News of Jesus Christ to all the other non-Christians in this world. This makes sense, right? As disciples, we are called to share the Good News.
What’s a disciple? Three things make a disciple. First, accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Second, deepen your relationship with Jesus Christ by learning more about him. And third, we go out into the world to share the Good News, what Pope Francis calls being a missionary disciple. So, we all have the same responsibility as the 72. There are over 1.5 billion Christians in this world: about 1 billion Roman Catholics, and half a billion other Christians in 30,000 different denominations. That means that there are over 1.5 billion missionaries in the world. But how do we do it?
There’s a fascinating study coming out of Detroit, about why young adults join the Catholic Church despite the scandals. The vast majority of them say they first came to church by the personal invitation of a Catholic. Other say they were drawn to the church by people they encountered who live a lively relationship with Christ and His Church. Isn’t that interesting? As faithful Catholics, we can be good missionaries simply by living our lives as authentically as possible. But Here’s the catch. It’s really not an option. It’s our responsibility. We can’t miss the opportunity to be disciples, in everyday life, by our words and our deeds.
That means we need to avoid being counter-witnesses. The church was founded on Peter, humble uneducated fishermen who died for the Lord He loved. Compare his faith with “supermarket Catholics” or “cafeteria Catholics” or “barely-make-it-to-mass Catholics”. These kinds of Catholics bear counter-witness to Christ. Instead we are called to be heralds of the kingdom, and that starts in our own homes. For example, when spouses respect each other, we teach our children to respect others. Our neighbors then can experience the Kingdom in our own families.
But this is not an easy path. In today’s world, moral martyrs. These people aren’t being killed physically, but they’re persecuted in the media. They’re defamed or falsely accused just because of their profound love for Jesus Christ and the counter-cultural lifestyle they proclaim. They are not unlike the martyrs of the church.
The early church called people martyrs. Martyrs were people who died giving witness to Christ. The most important element wasn’t how they died. What was most important was their fidelity to the Faith, until their last moment in their lives. Martyrs are not something in the past – a subject of study. No, unfortunately, recent history of abounds with examples of martyrs from the civil war in Spain, religious persecution in Poland, Mexico, Vietnam, Russia, China, Africa. The names of Edit Stein from Germany; Maximilian Kolbe from Poland; Miguel Pro from Mexico; Pedro Poveda, Spain, Fr. Stanley Rother from Oklahoma, are just the beginning of a long list of innocent victims who died for their faith.
Even today, religious freedom is still denied in many countries, or very severely regulated, including countries you wouldn’t expect, like Switzerland where I currently live, where the faith is controlled by the government. Several Muslim nations forbid the celebration of the sacraments. And in China, we see not only control of religion, but perhaps even persecution of religious ideas that the government considers a threat.
As missionary disciples, nourished by the Word of God proclaimed and by the Eucharist, we are all called to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with the courage of the martyrs. Are you ready?
Homework:
- What are some examples of where you’ve heard the Good News of Jesus?
- What are some ways you can share the Good News?
I think by doing our homework this week, we will develop a better sense of what it means to be disciples and perhaps betters skills as the disciples we are all called to be. Do you got it? Do you get it? Good! May Almighty God bless you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. +Amen!