The readings today are a call, a summons directly from Jesus for us to step up our game, stop dilly dallying or making excuses and to get on the move to spread God’s message in the world. Grab your walking stick, don’t waste time packing, and leave everything else behind. The call is meant to show the urgency of both mission and faith.
The Gospel message may seem straight forward and clear but there may be lingering questions like how practical is that for the average person or you might ask yourself, specifically how would that apply to me? You might also be asking what the big rush is. But the other side of that question is, what are we waiting for? If we don’t act now than when?
What is holding us back from truly hearing Jesus’ personal call to us? That means not just listening to the scriptures with our ears, but hearing the call of Jesus from the depths of our soul. He is knocking on the door to our soul, are we going to answer?
In Matthew 11:15 it states; “Whoever has ears ought to hear.” Maybe we don’t really hear this personal call of Jesus because we feel that it is not practical for us as we have many life obligations. We have a tendency to put perceived obstacles in our own way preventing us from taking any action because of what we consider as necessary priorities.
Let’s compare our perceptions of necessary priorities versus Jesus’ expectations with a basic example. If we plan to go on a trip, what essentials must we bring with us? I am sure we would list things like, some way to pay for things, like the currency of where we are going or a credit card, appropriate clothes based on if it is hot or cold out, maybe food or snacks, medications, a cell phone, and don’t forget the phone charger, etc.
What would you do if after you left on your trip everything you had was lost? What if you had no food, no luggage, no cell phone and no way to pay for anything? What if you only had the clothes on your back, nothing else? I think under those circumstances most anyone would panic.
Now take a look at the other side of this example. Imagine someone challenging you to go on a trip with only the clothes on your back. You would probably say they were crazy. You would not purposefully put yourself in that situation. But that is exactly what Jesus told his Disciples. What do you think their first reaction must have been? Most likely they felt just as you would feel. It sounds crazy.
Why would Jesus want to stress them out like that? The real message of Jesus is not only for them but all his disciples throughout time even for us today. What do we put our reliance on, our faith in as we go through life? We focus so much on the things of this world that we completely miss the fact of what really matters. Jesus’ point is that all we need to truly rely on is him. We must put all our faith in the love of God for us. Everything else is secondary.
In Matthew 6:31-33 Jesus states: “So do not worry and say, ‘What are we to eat?’ or ‘What are we to drink?’ or ‘What are we to wear?’ All these things the pagans seek. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom [of God] and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides.”
Jesus sent his Disciples out two by two with nothing but a walking stick and the clothes on their back to bring God’s healing power to those in need. It is important to note that he did not send them out alone. We as Disciples of Christ are to work together in a communal way to bring his message to all the world. Go in haste, no need to pack, don’t worry about things of this world, and rely on Christ as Christ is all we need.
Do you hear Jesus personally calling you to mission, like Amos was called by God in the First Reading and as the Apostles were sent out two by two by Jesus? What do you need to follow his call? Are you willing to put all your trust in Jesus or is your mind searching for that list of earthly material things that might first come to mind, the reasons preventing us to act. All you need has already been given you to get started now. You have Jesus and he also sent us the Holy Spirit to guide us through all the other twists and turns we will face. Trust in Jesus, believe in his love for you, and be a part of his great calling to serve in his ministry.
Now you might be saying to yourself, that all sounds well and good in theory but how do we practically apply this to our lives. Jesus calls all of us in a unique way. He is not asking all of us to abandon our families and hit the road, but we must still heed his call. We must bring his teachings into our regular daily lives.
You might also say that you don’t have the training to do this. Another reason not to act. Jesus called ordinary people, with common life experiences to be his Apostles. He did not call highly educated religious scholars. He calls all of us, all the baptized to live their faith in a way that brings his message to all those we meet throughout our lives. We must live our faith as an example of Jesus’ teachings. Let others experience Christ’s love and mercy through us being the hands and feet of Christ.
To answer the call of Jesus we must be on the move, take it with us to work, to school, to the grocery store, events with family and friends, places we frequently visit, not just only to church. We don’t need anything extra, just the love of Jesus driving every interaction we have with people. Let Jesus’ love be our food, our money, our necessity of life, let him be our all in all, and see what miraculous things can happen through sharing Christ’s love that we bring into other people’s lives.