Bulletin July 7, 2013 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time C

Bulletin July 7, 2013 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time C

Isaiah 66:10-14; Galatians 6:14-18; Luke 10:1-12, 17-20

I read this very fascinating ‘parable’ from “Once Upon a Time in Africa: Stories of Wisdom and Joy” “A true Story: An African king had conquered the territory of the Kasena, a powerful and shrewd tribe. Each year the king extracted tribute from the Kasena and would send a messenger to collect it.

One year the king made the mistake of sending his son, his heir apparent, to collect the tribute. When the Kasena saw the prince and his small entourage, they overpowered them and took the prince hostage.

They stripped the prince of his fine robes. He was given one meal a day and sent to work in the fields each morning. The sight of the royal heir digging in the field make him the object of derision among the Kasena.

But the prince made no protest. He did not try to escape. In fact, as he worked, he sang. He sang loudly and happily as his back bent to the hoe from sunup to sundown. His soft hands soon blistered and bled from the hard work; he lost weight and staggered with exhaustion.

But he continued to sing.

The elders of the Kasena were troubled by his singing and disconcerted by his attitude. ‘How can he possibly sing? We make him sleep on the ground. We give him very little food. We force him to do back-breaking work that he has never done before. Our wives and children mock him. Yet he sings!’

The elders finally summoned the prince. He stood in his loin cloth, straight and proud, before the council. The chief elder asked the prince, ‘Why do you sing!’

The prince answered, ‘Yes, you have taken away my fine clothes. You force me to work long and hard days, you give me very little to eat, and you make me sleep on the hard ground. You have taken away my pride and all my earthly possessions. You have brought me to shame. But I can sing. I can sing because you cannot take away who I am. I sing because I am the son of the king. Despite your treatment of me, my dignity remains. And so I sing. I sing with gratitude. I sing with joy. I sing with hope.’”
The thought came to me that this is what it means to be a follower of Jesus: to be filled with joy at the great gift of faith that God has blessed me and so many others with. The presence of the Holy Spirit is constantly gifting me and so many others to live the life of Jesus in whatever circumstances He places us. How many times do I reflect on this great gift from God? How many ‘songs of praise’ do I lift up to God for choosing me? How many opportunities do I have to grow in God but I view these as inconveniences and even annoyances because I had ‘other things planned.’ I do not realize that these could be those special moments that I could ‘bring peace’ and ‘cure the sick’ and be a part of ‘witnessing that the kingdom of God is at hand?’ And do I reflect that this is the way God has chosen for me to get to heaven?
In the Gospel, Jesus sent 72 disciples? Who were these people? Seventy-two is a lot of people. Luke doesn’t specify who they were so I think it is safe to assume that they were men, women and children old enough to be witnesses. Their mission isn’t about position or importance; it was about bringing God’s peace. They were sent, not to lecture or preach but to be present, to heal and to lift up those who were down. They were to be humble, realizing that they have received a gift, and are to be generous in sharing their gifts. They were to go about their ‘mission’ with humility and joy. They were to be Jesus in healing. Jesus promised them, that their lives and ours would make a difference to those they serve and to themselves.
They came back filled with excitement and stories of accomplishment and probably a little too much ‘pride’. Jesus put their mission in perspective when He said, “I have observed Satan fall like lightning from the sky. Behold I have given you the power to ‘tread upon serpents’ and scorpion and upon the full force of the enemy and nothing will harm you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”
Luke consistently places a significant amount of emphasis on what it means to be a disciple and the cost this will entail. Basically speaking, he tells me and each person that when we set out to follow Jesus, we have no idea of what will happen or what we are getting ourselves into. How true that has been in my life. There are times that I feel I am in the middle of a fierce battleground. Yet these times have assured me that God was present and it was the Spirit with phenomenal grace that makes all ‘right with God.’ Every time I say ‘Yes’ to be an instrument I realize the constant care of the Holy Spirit. There are times that this call has been costly, but the rewards are so comforting and great. As one holy person said, “Just consider the privilege of leading a person away from sin…and consider the joy in heaven when a person turns and gets closer to Jesus.” And not only is God working though each of His disciples but He is re-forming each disciple into the people that will be with Him forever in heaven. All I have to do each day is to say, ‘yes’. To say that I am just your servant, please have mercy and help me.
So I reflect on:

• When I pray for vocations, do I just include priesthood or religious life or do I include vocations of being married, single, and widowed?
  
• Do I include in my prayer the prayer for each believer to be ‘an instrument of God?’
  
• Do I realize that it is God’s power that accomplishes all, and not me?
  

Sacred Space 2013 shares, “Jesus sent the disciples out without resources; the first place they were to go was to the people near them. My first mission is to those around me, to help them to realize that the reign of God is within reach.

I am sent as a lamb among wolves. Sometimes I prefer to fit in and be comfortable. I pray that I may learn how to be distinctive---while remaining alive!”

And I pray with St. Francis:

Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love.

Where there is injury, pardon.

Where there is doubt, faith.

Where there is darkness, light.

Where there is sadness, joy.

O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.