Fr. Jorge HIMENEZ sx
DO I HAVE TO CHANGE MY IDEA OF MISSION?
XVth SUNDAY O. T. Year B.
When I was a child, I did not know about Missions and much less about the importance of the Mission of the Church. Then, when I heard about the Mission, I was thinking about adventures, wild life: Elephants, Tigers, Lions, etc. You know, dreams about Africa’s jungle, rivers and mountains. The idea of travelling here and there, to know places and peoples. Mission that was unreal, Mission that has no connection with the Church’s mission.
After a few years I became a missionary myself and I came to know the importance of the Church’s Mission...and here we come to this Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, where the readings help us to reflect on Mission. I used to tell the people here in the parish that ordinary time is a time to know and reflect about Jesus’ life. The evangelist (Mark) helps us to know Jesus in three ways: by his miracles, parables and teachings.
Today’s Gospel is a wonderful teaching of Jesus, because it is an occasion for the disciples to put into practice all they have learnt and heard from the Master. Jesus is sending them in pairs and with very simple instructions. No bread, no haversack, no coppers in their purses. These instructions nowadays are not understandable. Today do we need the computer, the smart phone, the tablet and all kind of gadgets to do our mission?
We can see a great disadvantage for the disciples, but at the same time their great trust in people’s generosity. The disciples were brave: they went out with authority and power, casting out devils, anointing many sick people with oil and curing them.
I am a Missionary but I do not have that authority to cast out devils. But I wonder: if I see an unclean spirit, I tell you I could run away, sorry, I will run away. I do not cure the sick, but sometimes I do send them to the hospital. Sometimes I visit them and talk to them.
Jesus said: “If you enter a house anywhere, stay until you leave the district”. With this I or we get to know the families, we get to know their problems, we get to know their happiness. It is there with the families, with the persons that we can talk about Jesus. This Jesus who is so simple and so generous with all.
How can I tell the people that they, too, are missionaries, when they know that this is the work of Bishops and priests? What kind of idea of mission do I give to the others?
Do I have to change my idea of mission? The Gospel has to be communicated with a very simple language, using ordinary words and simple concepts. We don’t need to get a degree, first, to talk about Jesus, do we?
So, let us pray for all the missionaries wherever they may be, especially for my xaverian confreres. So that God may continue to strengthen us in our journey, ready to face the realities and to look on them with faith.
DO I HAVE TO CHANGE MY IDEA OF MISSION?
XVth SUNDAY O. T. Year B.
When I was a child, I did not know about Missions and much less about the importance of the Mission of the Church. Then, when I heard about the Mission, I was thinking about adventures, wild life: Elephants, Tigers, Lions, etc. You know, dreams about Africa’s jungle, rivers and mountains. The idea of travelling here and there, to know places and peoples. Mission that was unreal, Mission that has no connection with the Church’s mission.
After a few years I became a missionary myself and I came to know the importance of the Church’s Mission...and here we come to this Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, where the readings help us to reflect on Mission. I used to tell the people here in the parish that ordinary time is a time to know and reflect about Jesus’ life. The evangelist (Mark) helps us to know Jesus in three ways: by his miracles, parables and teachings.
Today’s Gospel is a wonderful teaching of Jesus, because it is an occasion for the disciples to put into practice all they have learnt and heard from the Master. Jesus is sending them in pairs and with very simple instructions. No bread, no haversack, no coppers in their purses. These instructions nowadays are not understandable. Today do we need the computer, the smart phone, the tablet and all kind of gadgets to do our mission?
We can see a great disadvantage for the disciples, but at the same time their great trust in people’s generosity. The disciples were brave: they went out with authority and power, casting out devils, anointing many sick people with oil and curing them.
I am a Missionary but I do not have that authority to cast out devils. But I wonder: if I see an unclean spirit, I tell you I could run away, sorry, I will run away. I do not cure the sick, but sometimes I do send them to the hospital. Sometimes I visit them and talk to them.
Jesus said: “If you enter a house anywhere, stay until you leave the district”. With this I or we get to know the families, we get to know their problems, we get to know their happiness. It is there with the families, with the persons that we can talk about Jesus. This Jesus who is so simple and so generous with all.
How can I tell the people that they, too, are missionaries, when they know that this is the work of Bishops and priests? What kind of idea of mission do I give to the others?
Do I have to change my idea of mission? The Gospel has to be communicated with a very simple language, using ordinary words and simple concepts. We don’t need to get a degree, first, to talk about Jesus, do we?
So, let us pray for all the missionaries wherever they may be, especially for my xaverian confreres. So that God may continue to strengthen us in our journey, ready to face the realities and to look on them with faith.