There is a popular story that I’ve seen on the internet, shared by email and posted on blogs and social media. It’s a story that speaks about practicing what one preaches. I am not sure whether it is factual or not, but it will help us to understand as we reflect on Sunday’s readings.
The story says that a mother had a son who was addicted to candy. One day she encountered Gandhi, explained to him the situation and asked him for advice. Gandhi replied: “I will talk to your son but bring him to me in four weeks.” The mother, although she was confused as to why she had to wait a month, agreed to this condition. Four weeks passed and the mother brought her son to Gandhi. He approached the young man and talked to him about the harmful consequences that eating too much candy can bring, and encouraged him to change his habit. The mother thanked him but then asked a question: “Why did you wait four weeks to talk to him? Why didn’t you talk to my son the first time?” To which Gandhi answered: “Because four weeks ago, I was still eating candy.”
The readings from Sunday remind us that to be a Christian is to be a disciple and that to be a disciple is to be willing to accept the missionary task that the Lord entrusted to every one of us. God wants to ask us for help, not because he needs it but because he loves us. It is out of love that he wants every one of us to collaborate with him in sharing the Good News and in making his presence felt in the midst of our society. From the moment of Baptism, God asks us to continue the work of making his love known in the world.
Ordinary Preachers
Among the many prophets that God sends throughout the Sacred Scriptures, today we find Amos — a layman, shepherd, and farmer who displays faith and love for God and the mission entrusted to him. Yet things were not simple for Amos. In today’s first reading we see that Amos encountered rejection in his ministry: “Amaziah, priest of Bethel, said to Amos, ‘Off with you, visionary, flee to the land of Judah!’” But Amos remembered that his mission did not come from the human realm but it was given to him by God: “Amos answered Amaziah, ‘I was no prophet, nor have I belonged to a company of prophets; I was a shepherd and a dresser of sycamores. The LORD took me from following the flock, and said to me, Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’”
Similarly, later in the Gospel we hear that Christ sends his first 12 Apostles to preach to the nearby towns and villages. Jesus had chosen them just for that task and today, the moment had arrived. They had lived and socialized with Jesus of Nazareth, they had heard him preach, they had seen him work, they had been witnesses of his ministry. Now, Christ was sending them to pass along his message, to cure people, to free them from unclean spirits, to be with the people. In other words, they were asked to do exactly what Christ was doing.
We cannot ignore an important point: in both of these readings, God used ordinary preachers. In choosing those who were sent forth to deliver his word, God doesn’t use experts in theology or scripture scholars. God doesn’t use people with advanced degrees or even people who were famous for their piety and holiness.
God used ordinary people. People like any of us. The were simply in love with God and they were willing to share his word with their brothers and sisters. “Apostle” means precisely “one who is sent” on a mission. The fact that Jesus sends the 12 — and us — is a sign of his love. He doesn’t choose us based on our qualifications. Jesus knows our limitations and our weaknesses and still doesn’t reject us. When we think we cannot be witnesses of the Gospel because “I am too young,” or “I am too old,” or “I haven’t studied the Bible enough,” or even “I haven’t been to Church in a while,” today’s Gospel reminds us that Christ asks every one of us to participate, regardless of our conditions. He knows us and he wants us like this. For the rest, he will guide us. Just like he called the farmer Amos and he called fishermen and others to be part of the 12, he is calling every one of us to join in this task.
Into the world without attachment to the world
One aspect of this missionary task is that God sends us into the world, to be part of this world, yet without feeling an attachment to the world. In this Gospel story, Christ sends his disciples two by two. This reminds us that working together help us walk further along the path. As Pope Francis is helping us become a synodal Church, today’s Gospel reminds us that teamwork and collaboration brings great blessings to our mission.
As we go forth on the mission, Christ expects us to live “evangelical poverty” — a spirit of detachment from worldly things. Jesus told his disciples “to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick.” In other words, his disciples should not be attached to material goods such as money or luxuries. Likewise, in the first reading, Amos defends himself from the accusations of Amaziah by assuring him that his mission is not to make a living but simply to follow God’s command.
Both readings show us that there will be moments where we will not be welcomed. Sometimes those proclaiming the Gospel will be rejected or even persecuted. The lesson is that a spirit of poverty and simplicity of life is what should characterize the lives of those being sent.
The spirit of austerity and poverty allows the Gospel message to make more noise. People will be able to see that the disciple is not there to accumulate wealth, arriving without “money, sack, sandals and second tunics.” Rather, those who live in this spirit point toward another reality, another realm, another life. Indeed, a spirit of poverty is a sign of trust and our dependence on God. This is the message our society today will be able to understand more clearly. Pope Paul VI said it years ago: “The world needs witnesses more than it does teachers.”
Christ sends us forth to be witnesses of hope and preachers of the better future that comes when we are able to live the Gospel. We are called to bring into reality the love of God. This is possible when we are able to see beyond ourselves and be freed of our worldly attachments and begin incarnating the word of God in our midst in lives of service and charity.
God is calling us as we are, with our limitations and imperfections, but he wants us to work with him two by two, or five by five, or with as many brothers and sisters we encounter along the way. The apostolic mission to which we are all called is the proclamation of the kingdom of God and the incarnation of that message.
Image: James Tissot (Nantes, France, 1836–1902, Chenecey–Buillon, France). He Sent them out Two by Two (Il les envoya deux à deux), 1886–1896. Opaque watercolor over graphite on gray wove paper, Image: 5 3/4 x 9 3/4 in. (14.6 x 24.8 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Purchased by public subscription, 00.159.147 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 00.159.147_PS2.jpg)
Father Bernardo Lara is a priest of the Diocese of San Diego and pastor of three Southern California parishes: Sacred Heart and St. Margaret Mary in Brawley and St. Joseph in Westmorland.
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