15th. Sunday, Year (B)
(Amos
7:12-15; Ephesians 1:3-10; Mark 6:7-13)
This is a momentous occasion for Jesus. His last words in public had been:
A
prophet is not without honour except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house.
He had not been accepted by His own people at Nazareth and
that rejection had been symptomatic of the reaction He had evoked in Galilee as
a whole, but above all at Jerusalem: there had been some measure of appreciation
from a small number of individuals; some occasional, ephemeral, demonstrations
of enthusiasm from the generality of people; but always against a background of
solid and developing opposition from the religious authorities, both Sadducees
and Pharisees, while the ordinary members of the People of God remained largely
indifferent. Perhaps Jesus would have
expected that official rejection and religious opposition, but it was the relative
indifference shown by His own people at Nazareth, despite His Personal words of
acknowledged wisdom in their midst and the good reports of His miracles
performed elsewhere, that disturbed Him.
Despite the renown His healings and cures elsewhere had won for Him, His
own people would not listen to His authoritative Word of truth because they could
not accept it coming from Him. This
personal rejection was deeply engrained in Nazareth society, and Jesus felt it
so much, that we are told:
He could do no mighty work there,
except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. And He marvelled because of their unbelief.
He left Nazareth and carried on preaching in the villages
around but His mind was pre-occupied: He was beginning to appreciate that it
would not be He Himself who would bring Israel -- let alone the nations -- back
to God: at least, Israel would not repent and be converted back to the Lord in
response to words preached by Himself.
The saving message had, indeed, to be His message, for He Himself
was the only and ultimate Good News, but others would have to proclaim it for
Him after Him; for He, Jesus of Nazareth, Son of Mary, would not prove to be Personally
acceptable to His own people in His lifetime.
Faced with such a situation Jesus began to think of His
future Church which would proclaim His Good News to the whole world and offer
His saving grace to all who would believe in His Name, be they Jews or
pagans. He therefore decided to send out
disciples on what we might call ‘a trial run’ and, as Matthew (10:5-6) tells
us, only to a strictly limited group of people:
Do not go into the way of the
Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. But go rather to the lost sheep of the house
of Israel.
Jesus also gave His Apostles strict instructions regarding
the preparations to be made for the journeying ahead of them:
He commanded them to take nothing
for the journey except a staff -- no bag, no bread, and no copper in their
money belts -- but to wear sandals, and not to put on two tunics.
Nevertheless, these were no random instructions, for they
were of such a nature as meant to impress upon the disciples that they were
being sent out on a holy mission: for these requirements would equally
have fitted them for entering the Temple in Jerusalem. It was with a similar attitude and a like
intention to that of worshippers entering the Temple that they were to embark
upon this mission Jesus was entrusting to them, it was to be a holy mission for
God’s glory above all. It was also,
undoubtedly, to be for the present and future well-being of those to whom they
were being sent because, according to Mark, Jesus:
Gave them power over
unclean spirits,
whereby they would be enabled to go through Israel
preaching the proximate coming Kingdom of God and overthrow of the devil’s power, by calling the people to repentance and casting out unclean spirits.
The decision was made by Jesus to send them out, but
perhaps He was also wanting to see how His Father would bless the mission as a
foreshadowing of the Church, because Jesus was always attentive to even the
slightest manifestation of His Father’s will: as, for example, when He prayed
all night before choosing His Apostles; and, again, when He chose Simon Peter
as Rock because His Father had clearly chosen Simon for a special revelation.
However that may be, it would seem that the short mission
of the Apostles to the People of Israel was indeed blessed and turned out to be
most successful, for we are told (Mark 6:30-31) that:
The apostles gathered to
Jesus and told Him all things, both what they had done and what they had
taught. (Whereupon) He said to them, "Come aside by yourselves to a
deserted place and rest a while."
And, it should be carefully noted, it was in that deserted
place to which they now headed that Jesus would, a little later, feed the Five
Thousand with food foreshadowing the future Eucharist, the supreme source of heavenly
refreshment and renewal in His future Church.
As you can see, this sending out of the Twelve by Jesus is
extremely significant for us who are His disciples and members of His Body, the
Church, and we can learn most by trying to appreciate not only the physical
arrangements for food and clothing, not only the spiritual powers He gave the
Apostles for their work, but also by most carefully observing the personal
attitude Jesus enjoined on them:
In whatever place you enter a
house, stay there till you depart from that place.
They were not to move about from place to place despite the
fact that that could very easily have happened.
For example, modern, good, kindly and considerate, Christians on such a
mission would think -- and secretly praise themselves for thinking thus – that
it would be only right and proper for them to move from house to house so as
not to be too much of a burden on any one household. However, it is clear that Jesus here is
telling His Apostles to be in no way apologetic for needing and
accepting some help on their mission.
Indeed St. Matthew insists on this point, for according to him, Jesus
said to His missionaries:
Now whatever city or town you
enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and stay there till you go out. And when you go into a household, greet
it. If the household is worthy, let your
peace come upon it. But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you.
(10:11-14)
Let me make it clearer: Jesus is saying, “Inquire who in
the town is worthy to shelter you. Have
every confidence because the blessing you bring with you is God’s blessing of
peace, but it is only for those who are worthy.”
That blessing of peace for the host household was quite
special; however, it was by no means the only blessing the Apostles carried
with them, for we are told:
They cast out many demons, and
anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them.
Many in that town or city would, indeed, have had good
reason to rejoice at the Apostles’ coming.
But, as yet I haven’t even mentioned the greatest blessing the Apostles
brought with them, the blessing for which not just some would rejoice … no, the
supreme blessing being offered by the Apostles was to be for all in that
town or city: it was the blessing of having the Good News preached to them and
being given the opportunity to believe in the name of Jesus and, through
repentance, have their sins forgiven:
So, they went out and
preached that people should repent.
These were truly Apostles of peace: peace, first of all, for
the members of the household that would charitably shelter them; and then, a
much more wonderful peace to all who, hearing their preaching and believing in
Jesus, would repent of their sins! Peace
before God, that is, peace with God, to all repentant believers. These Apostles were those of whom the prophet
Isaiah had spoken (Isaiah 52:7) hundreds of years ago:
How beautiful upon the mountains
are the feet of him who brings good news, who proclaims peace, who brings glad
tidings of good things, who proclaims salvation, who says to Zion, "Your
God reigns!"
Surely, we can appreciate why such Apostles, men with such
a message and such blessings to bestow, had to be in no way apologetic, for
they would come bearing such gifts! And yet, they must be in no way proud or
avaricious, because the gifts they brought would be gifts of God: gifts of
His gracious giving alone, theirs, but to humbly bestow.
People of God, we who are privileged to be Catholic Christians
today should in no way apologize for our belief in God; likewise, we
should never try to make ourselves appear more understanding and sympathetic
than God Himself whether by our words or by our attitudes. Sad to say, however, such posturing seems far
too common today among those who try to win human approval for Jesus or His
Church by apologizing, by watering down, explaining away, whatever they fear to
be too strict or too demanding in the Gospel.
Do you think that I am being too critical of modern
tendencies? I will prove to you that I
am not, because Mark goes on to tell us what was Jesus’ Own final piece of
advice, indeed His final command, to His Apostles going on mission; a command many,
very many, seemingly good people of today -- people modern society considers icons
and admirable people -- would never condone, indeed would condemn, today:
Whoever will not receive you nor
hear you, when you depart from there, shake off the dust under your feet as a
testimony against them. Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for
Sodom and Gomorrah in the Day of Judgment than for that city!
That, of course, forces us to ask ourselves the question:
“Who is right, the Gospel or some of the popular modern presentations of, or
substitutions for, it?” Or, to put in
another way: “Who are Christians today, who are you and I, following? Is it, as indeed it should be, Jesus and His
Gospel as proclaimed by His Church; or is it what many modern pseudo-religious and
“wanna-be-popular” figures like to present as the only truly acceptable, compassionate,
and all-embracing, modern Good News ... not from God whom they do not believe
in, but from your elected political representatives, people with power but
personally hidden from view, who indeed want to offer you all that is for your
good and their own?
Now, of which Church are you a member dear friends, the
Church that has suffered and endured throughout the centuries following the
teachings of Christ our Saviour under the guidance of His most Holy Spirit
gifted to us; or some pleasing, comfortable, dispositions of modern morality,
acceptable to all because including all in their very own and individual wills
and ways, and also very popular with the young who know so little of life yet seek
excitement so diligently, a morality whose tenets are fully in line with “EU
values, principles, and law”, to quote
EU threats against Hungary of late?
Ours is a time of decision, dear People of God, and may Mother
Church’s truth be our guide, her sacramental grace our strength, in Jesus our Saviour,
by the Spirit Who is God’s Gift of Life to us, for the Father Who is Lord of all.
