Thursday, October 18, 2018

Sent on Mission to Proclaim the Kingdom of the Lord

Today we celebrate the feast of St. Luke, the evangelist, who worked along side St. Paul in making Jesus known to the Gentiles.  Both Luke and Paul, friends of Jesus, did what the responsorial psalm, Psalm145, proclaims:  "Your friends make known O Lord, the glorious splendor of your Kingdom." The psalmist goes on to say to followers of Jesus: "Let them discourse of the glory of [God's] Kingdom," a kingdom of peace and justice and love.  As disciples of Jesus, we are to make "known [God's] might and the glorious splendor of [God's] kingdom, [a] Kingdom...for all ages."  We are to let people know that God's "dominion endures through all generations," not just Jesus' generation. We are also to reveal the truth that "the Lord is just in all his ways and holy in all his works. [And furthermore,]...is near to all who call upon him, to all who call upon him in truth."

In today's Gospel, Luke 10, 1-9, Luke tells the story of when Jesus appointed 72 disciples to  proclaim the Kingdom and thus precede him to places which He Himself "intended to visit....[B]ehold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves.....In whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace to this household.' If a peaceful person lives there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. Stay in [that] house." 

In order to do God's work, we need to, first ourselves, be at peace. If the persons we are sent to assist, be that family  or community members, members of our parish, or our fellow employees, are not at peace with our presence or message, we need to move on to other places/persons, as Jesus counseled the 72.  When the Lord send us out on mission, we also need to be prepared to encounter "wolves."  Not everyone wants to hear about the Gospel way of life and not everyone lives a life  that brings them to knowledge Jesus, the Lord who, as identified by the psalmist as one who "is just in all his ways and holy in all  his works."  As with Jesus, we will encounter opposition in living the Christian way of life and being true to ourselves!

Are you/am I ready? If we keep our focus on Jesus as we journey through any given day, or come back to the Lord when we lose our focus,  we will always be ready!


 


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