Encounter and Mission, 14th Sunday

We are a missionary Church.  Our baptism sends us forth on mission and this doesn’t mean going to some far off place, but it means to follow Jesus and witness, by our lives, the Good News he preached.

Life with Jesus is following – sending – and being, and these are the dynamics of Christian discipleship.

Today we are in the middle of the Luke’s missionary discourse - the call to follow Jesus, the sending forth on mission and what that mission might look like.

Last week we had several accounts of those who said “I will follow you” only to fall away at what is asked of them. It was hard to leave everything and have nothing to live an intenerate life on the road where rejection and hardship are part and parcel of following Jesus. Jesus is clear; hold on to nothing, carry nothing, expect nothing.

Today we have the sending forth of the 72, where again, he tells them; hold on to nothing, carry nothing, expect nothing. Next week we have the in the Good Samaritan the model of mission & discipleship.

There is only one mission, but discipleship comes in all sizes. We know there were rings of discipleship around Jesus. 

There were the 12 closet to him who shared Jesus’ itinerant life. There were the 72; farmers, landowners, craftsmen, who drop temporally their village & family duties to be sent on mission by Jesus to bring the good news and prepare the way. And there was Mary, Martha & Lazarus and countless others who stayed at home, but who kept those homes open to Jesus. They all loved Jesus and all were committed disciples.

 We heard in the first reading that God’s reign will be generous, overflowing in abundance and tenderness.

But, we are not there yet. Jesus proclaimed that Kingdom, here and now, but not yet fulfilled and we know from Jesus that discipleship and mission comes before inheritance and rest.  The harvest is abundant, but the laborers few.

St Paul understood discipleship - it was total self-surrender - he says

“I never boast except in the cross of Our Lord”

“The world has been crucified to me and I to the world”

It was - and still is - all about Jesus.But, what does it mean to follow Jesus?

We heard last week the need for complete surrender of one’s life, total commitment right now  because of the utter urgency in preparing for the coming Kingdom.  Nothing else mattered.

For the 12, that meant absolute intenerate living at the feet of the master. For the 72, it was living the Good News in their ordinary lives, but also temporarily leaving that comfort behind. For others (the majority of followers) it meant keeping their hearts inflamed by his message, to do his work in their individual villages and towns and homes.

Each vocation looks different, but inwardly, it was always the same,a personal invitation by Jesus followed by a personal choice by us. It is always; encounter - conversion and mission. This is the pattern from the first evangelists to the new evangelization. It is never enough to simply know about Jesus, in fact it is impossible to know Jesus and not claim his mission as our own. 

Jesus called and sent out the 12. Jesus called and sent out the 72, he calls and sends us, to be an extension of himself and his mission.  Where they were (and we are) Jesus is.  Their work (our work) is his work.

He sent them with nothing but their complete trust and loving obedience.  No money, no sandals, no supplies and with such urgency (remember the person who wanted to bury his Father) that he tells them do not stop along the way, do not get sidetracked. Jesus tells them wherever you find yourself do not ask for anything, do not demand anything, offer your peace (offer them my peace) and if it is accepted and you are welcome.

Stay there and share table fellowship.  Do not move from one house to another.  Do my work wherever you find yourself. Teach, heal and comfort. Share each joy and each sorrow. There is no more important work.  You will never be a better disciple somewhere else? There is no one who needs you more than the person seated across the table from you. Right here – right now – is the logistics of discipleship & mission.

There is no one blue print but there are elements that again and again show up.

Trust in the Father and his Son and the Holy Spirit and have hope in the Kingdom, both here and fulfilled.
Relationship with Jesus, that is ongoing and deepening, because only Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life for every Christian.  

Mission is extending the Kingdom of God wherever you are by making Jesus present by your words and actions.  Mission is not having faith, it is doing faith.
Service is the tangible fruit of mission and it always looks to help the other (spouse, family, neighbor, stranger) while never counting the cost to ourselves.

Prayer. To follow Jesus is to pray as Jesus prayed, as Jesus taught us, everywhere and always at ease the Father. 

And Suffering. It is a part of human condition, life itself and must be accept with grace when it comes our way but it must be fought (with tooth and nail) when it accompanies injustice.

To follow Jesus is to never boast of anything but the cross.  We are of this world, but are not slaves of this world. We are free to choose the better good.  We are free to follow Jesus completely and to the end.

And when we do, we can rejoice with the 72 and all disciples before us, and with us, and who will come after us, for all those names are written in heaven. †