Month: July 2021

There are so many places to launch a reflection from in today’s Gospel. Jesus’ sending of the disciples is full of vivid imagery and specific instructions on how, where and why the Gospel will be preached. As I prayed with this Gospel, I kept being struck by two little lines that seem to be tossed in the middle:

ˆWithout cost you have received; Without cost you are to give.”

Jesus had just detailed the things the disciples were to do during their time away. They were to preach the Gospel, cure diseases, cleanse the people and drive out demons. During Jesus’ day, these activities were all ones that a payment would have been expected. A preacher would extend a hat or shawl after a lesson, doctors have a fee, even religious leaders expected something in return for services rendered. 

Jesus, however, immediately and without conditions lays bare what sort of payment the disciples ought to expect. Nothing. What they have received from Him, what powers or knowledge they now possess, they received without any monetary cost. They are to give what they have in the same way that they received it. 

We, too, have received from Jesus. Jesus freely gives himself to us each Sunday at Mass in the Eucharist. This gift is given for our salvation and for our unity in the Mystical Body of Christ. The following is a beautiful passage from the document Lumen Gentium, one of the defining documents from the Second Vatican Council. It speaks about this incredible mystery that we participate in without charge:

“As all the members of the human body, though they are many, form one body, so also are the faithful in Christ. Also, in the building up of Christ’s Body various members and functions have their part to play. There is only one Spirit who, according to His own richness and the needs of the ministries, gives His different gifts for the welfare of the Church. What has a special place among these gifts is the grace of the apostles to whose authority the Spirit Himself subjected even those who were endowed with charisms. Giving the body unity through Himself and through His power and inner joining of the members, this same Spirit produces and urges love among the believers. From all this it follows that if one member endures anything, all the members co-endure it, and if one member is honored, all the members together rejoice.” (LG 7)

We are transformed each Mass more and more into the Body of Christ. This should produce within us a spirit of love and generosity for the other members of the Body. But even more so, it should open our eyes to all humanity, who Jesus is equally calling to the table. Jesus did not send His disciples to specific people, but to all people. He did not require they demand payment, create hoops to be jumped through, or hurdles to be surmounted before receiving what they themselves had freely received. 

The love and forgiveness you have been gifted by God are not yours to keep. They have been given to you so that you can freely give them away. Each Mass, you are given the grace of the Eucharist not to keep for yourself, but to pass on to those you meet in your daily life. 

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I was on the edge of my Kindergarten seat, hoping to be called by the teacher to run the weekly errand of taking the attendance sheet to the Principal’s Office (which was practically next to our classroom). Why was this desirable? I think it was because only the reliable kids were entrusted with this task – the ones who would be certain to do just what they were given to do without childish dilly-dallying. The Friday that I was called, I was elated and couldn’t wait to get home to tell my mom.

Have you ever been chosen from a crowd to participate in the task of the moment in a particular way?

In today’s Gospel, Jesus chooses twelve men from among those who followed him as disciples. A disciple, or pupil/student, chooses which teacher to follow; an apostle is chosen by the teacher for a specific task. This reading from Matthew is the first time the word “apostle” is used in the Gospel, and these twelve specific men are identified. We can see them as very real people (identified by name), flesh and blood and fallenness (among them are a tax collector and a betrayer), men with family trees (they are brothers and sons), a band of men who knew each other and their idiosyncrasies. Men who had to respond to a special personal call of Jesus, and who were then sent to bear Jesus himself into the world.

This call comes in three parts: Jesus “summons” them to himself, he instructs them and gives them “authority over unclean spirits…and to cure every disease and every illness”, and he sends them out. His first sentence to his would-be followers (after his baptism in the Jordan) is: “Come, and see.” His final words on earth (just before his Ascension into Heaven) is: “Go and make disciples.” First, come and be with him; then, go out to others.

This is the nature of every call or vocation: we are called to Christ (in baptism and in successive “calls” through our lives), we are given a share in his own authority and power (through study and prayer and the sacraments), and we are sent forth for others. The gifts that we are given are not for ourselves only; they are given to us so that we can use them in service to others. In fact, like the Twelve Apostles and countless saints after them, we are called to pour ourselves out completely to fulfill this call – all twelve of them were martyred for remaining faithful to this call of Christ!

My five-year-old self only wanted to be called to do something special; there was not even an understanding of service to others. A Christian call is much deeper than this, demanding a commitment of our whole self to the cause of Christ, for God’s glory, our own good, and the good of others!

What is God calling you to today?

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“The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.”  Mt 9:32-38

My grandfather’s humble service to the Church was awe inspiring to me.  During his retirement years, he spent hours upon hours serving the Lord by promoting a devotion to the Sacred Heart through his work with the Men of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Cincinnati, OH, making rosaries, serving his family especially his wife or volunteering at his local Catholic church.  When asked why he was so dedicated to it all, he used to chuckle and say with a wink, “the pay is out of this world”.  Through his example, I learned that sowing eternal seeds is far more rewarding than earthly ones. 

When one lives a life devoted to the Lord, one can begin to identify the fellow workers in the field and appreciate the work they are inspired to do to serve the King of Kings. Some of the workers are priests and religious, while others are lay men and women seeking to do the most rewarding and meaningful work of spreading and living the faith. 

When we witness such examples of selfless service, we might be tempted to be discouraged by our own lacking or even become jealous of the work they do, the commitment they have, or the “tools” they have at their disposal.  Instead, we ought to focus on the work to which we are called, thank God for their example, and be inspired to better love God as they do. 

We are called to pray for more workers in the harvest.  The Lord wants us to ask for more holy men and women to serve the Church, and when they do appear, to have a heart full of gratitude for their “yes” to God.

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