Reflection
In today’s Gospel, Jesus summoned the Twelve and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases. He sent them to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.
Until this point in time, the Apostles were witnesses to the miracles Jesus performed and His teaching about the new “kingdom” He was establishing. Now, Jesus empowers the Twelve Apostles and sends them out to proclaim the Kingdom of God and heal the sick with strict instructions to travel light. They are being asked to act in Jesus’ name and perform the same works of healing and evangelization they have witnessed from Him. This call and commissioning to active ministry is our call as well. Like the Apostles, we come from different backgrounds and professions, endowed with our own unique gifts and talents. But we share a common mission to use what we have to bring the knowledge and power of Jesus into the lives of others.
By instructing them to take no food, money, or extra tunic, Jesus teaches the Apostles, and us, a poverty of spirit that relies entirely on God's provision through the hospitality of others. We are taught that to do His work we must be totally dependent on His grace and divine providence. Our faith, and our effectiveness as disciples depends on our complete surrender of mind (will), body and soul in exchange for the grace and blessings that Jesus will provide. The surrender of our will, the exchange of our ego for the mind of Christ, is required for us to receive His abundant graces.
The basis of Christianity is living out our love for God through a life of service to others. We do not exist for ourselves or to seek our own pleasures. Collectively, as the body of Christ, the Church, we are created to be sent out into the world to serve others. Once we embrace this fundamental truth, we can then recognize our need to come together each week as a Church and be taught, fed and sent forth by our Lord to live out our true mission. We may have different vocations in life, but we all have a common mission.
Too often, we allow the rejection of our message by others to cause us to give up and not continue to spread the good news. In times of rejection, we, like the Apostles, must “shake off the dust” of rejection and keep moving to the next opportunity to spread the love of Jesus. If we remain open to being sent, Jesus will always give us that next opportunity.
Today’s Question for Prayer and Reflection
How can you be a more effective witness to the Gospel of the Kingdom of God?