BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD (# 33)
15th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B – July 13, 2003
BIBLE READINGS
Am 7:12-15 // Eph 1:3-14 // Mk 6:7-13
The Burnham couple, Martin and Gracia, who were serving in the Philippines as missionaries, were captured by the dreaded Abu Sayyaf, a terrorist group in Southern Philippines whose primary activities were kidnapping and extortion. Gracia survived 14 months of terror in the jungle. On June 7, 2002, Martin died and Gracia was wounded in the shootout that resulted from the rescue attempt made by the Philippine Army. Gracia’s testimony revealed that Martin had been a missionary through and through. Thousands of people – including senators and ambassadors - attended Martin’s funeral at Witchita, Kansas. Gracia remarked: “They admired him most, perhaps, for what he stood for, what we all try to stand for. Nothing complicated. Just a simple, whole-hearted goodness. His death had not been in vain. He showed me what strength was. Faith. Faith in yourself, in those you love, and in God to be present in every moment of your life.” The missionary Martin Burnham is a modern-day example of a disciple sent by Jesus, one who had kept faith in him and had shown the world that faith is the inner strength to conquer evil.
Today’s Gospel reading is about the Lord who sends and the mission of the disciples he sent. According to Mark, “Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over unclean spirits” (cf. Mk 6:7). The origin of the missionary vocation is Jesus who prepared the apostles for this important moment. It was Jesus who called them personally (cf. Mk 1:16-20); it was he who selected the Twelve to be his companions and to be sent out to preach with the power to cast out devils (cf. Mk 3:13-19). Tutored by Jesus and present with him as he healed many from sickness and evil (cf. chap. 3-5), the Twelve were sent out with tremendous power bestowed upon them. The apostles responded to the sending with alacrity. Mark narrated: “So they went off and preached repentance. The Twelve drove out many demons, and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them” (cf. Mk 6:12-13). In the mission of the apostles, Mark underlined the potency of the Gospel, the power of action against the reign of evil. The task of those sent by Jesus is to bring the healing balm of forgiveness to those wounded by the virulence of sin and to denounce evil wherever its presence is obvious, openly confronting it by appealing to the power of Christ.
According to the authors of the book, Days of the Lord, vol. 5: “The sending of the Twelve on their mission has a general scope, without restriction of time or place. We belong to a Church sent to others; we are all constituted witnesses of Christ in the day-to-day work of mission. Pope Paul VI, moreover, has this to say: “The Church is a continuation and extension of his presence, called above all to carry on the mission of Jesus and his work of evangelization without ceasing. Never can the Christian community be shut in on itself” (cf. Evangelii Nuntiandi, 15).
In the missionary activity of those sent by Jesus, they are to keep a simple life-style, bereft of material comforts and financial security. According to Jesus’ instruction, they are “to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick – no food, no sack, no money in their belts” (Mk 6:8). The exhortation reflects the urgency of the missionary task and the absolute trust in God that it entails. According to Aelred Rosser: “It is absolutely necessary to be unencumbered in the mission field be it in the farthest reaches of the globe or in one’s neighborhood. A heroic faith is required – faith that presumes that God’s loving providence will sustain the dedicated worker. The virtue of detachment is being counseled here, for without detachment the preacher’s attention cannot be centered on the Good News.” Indeed, the life of missionaries is absolutely oriented to the task of preaching God’s kingdom.
Finally, the missionaries must contend with the possibility of not being welcomed and of not being listened to. In this case, they are simply replicating in their lives the destiny of the sending Lord who was rejected even by his neighbors in Nazareth (cf. Mk 6:1-6). According to an ancient Church writer, Theophylact (c. 1050-1109): “He told them to shake the dust off their feet when people refused to receive them, to show that they had made a long journey for their sakes and they owed them nothing; they had received nothing from them, not even their dust, which they shook off as a testimony against them – a testimony of reproach.” The action of shaking the dust off one’s feet is to provoke thought among the unwelcoming people and to make them realize that they have rejected their own salvation. Indeed, the missionaries of all ages will be subjected to all kinds of trials. Their option is not violent reprisal, but humility and kindness. They will humbly accept the indignities of rejection and the painful process of “birthing” in order that the saving word of the Gospel may reach all the ends of the earth.
As Christian disciples today, are we as trusting in God as Jesus called his Twelve to be? Do we trust God’s loving involvement in our lives?
What is the specific apostolic mission addressed to us by Christ today?
Do we believe in the potency of the Gospel – its power of action against the forces of evil?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD
Leader: Jesus Lord, you have called us personally to yourself and given us the potency of the Gospel, with its power of action against the forces of evil. You send us to overcome the death-dealing situations of today’s world with the life-giving realities of your kingdom. You entrust us with the mission of touching the wounded with the healing power of your love.
Assembly: May your Father who loves us enlighten the eyes of our hearts. May we realize deeply what is the hope that belongs to our call.
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the week. Please memorize it.
“Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over unclean spirits.” (Mk 6:7)
ACTION PLAN: Pray for all missionaries that they may carry out their mandate with absolute trust in God and apostolic zeal.
ACTION PLAN: Be a missionary to a person close to you and in need of the healing power of the Gospel.