14th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year C
In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus sends out 72 of His disciples as missionaries ahead of Him to every town and place He intended to visit because the harvest is abundant but the laborers are few. With this move, Jesus reminds us that we, Catholic Christians are missionary disciples and it is our duty as His disciples to go out and proclaim Him to the world, because there is a need for it. This is exactly what is needed in our troubled world today as many people including our lapsed catholic christians are in dire need for God’s word and mercy. So today, Jesus reminds us that it is our duty to proclaim Him to the world.
So how can we better proclaim Jesus in our world today? We can better proclaim Jesus in our world today by being true and faithful missionary disciples. Who is a missionary disciple? Before defining a missionary disciple, it would be better to know who a missionary is. A missionary is a person who is sent by the Church authority to promote Christianity, preach the Gospel, help strengthen the faith of believers and provide services to people in a given place or region. A missionary disciple is one who has had a transformational encounter with Jesus, and from this encounter, has surrendered himself or herself to God’s love and God’s will, then chooses to follow Jesus by extending His Kingdom through preaching, teaching, or other means of evangelization and catechesis.
Since we know who a missionary disciple is, what does being a missionary disciple entail or what are the characteristics of a missionary disciple?
- A missionary disciple brings peace to all they encounter as emphasized by Jesus in the gospel reading when He said, “Into 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.” Peace here is “Shalom” which means wholeness, completeness, and well-being, encompassing far more than just the absence of conflict. Shalom which is a powerful blessing and a reflection of God's nature, represents a state of peace that includes physical, emotional, and spiritual harmony, as well as prosperity and safety.
- A missionary disciple continually worships and enthusiastically praises God in and through the sacraments by giving thanks to God for all His blessings, graces and mercies.
- A missionary disciple prays constantly and consistently, because prayer is of great importance in our lives as christians as it brings us closer to God.
- A missionary disciple always serves God by looking for opportunities to help others, both within the Church community and outside of it.
- A missionary disciple is charitable and generous with his or her blessings, gifts, prayers, presence, and sees everything they have as a gift from God and for the greater glory of God.
- A missionary disciple is open and willing to learn about Jesus and the teachings of the Catholic Church so as to deepen their faith in God, answer their call to discipleship and proclaim Christ to the world.
- A missionary disciple discerns God’s call to love and follow Him and shares fellowship with others nurturing and supporting them in their mission to proclaim Christ to the world.
My dear friends in Christ, as laborers for God’s harvest, let us go out into the world today as missionary disciples and through authentic faith, love and service, bring our brothers and sisters closer to God by sharing God’s peace with them, by worshipping God better, by praying constantly and consistently, by faithfully serving God and our neighbor, by being generous and charitable, and by knowing more about our faith and sharing it with all.
