"Jesus said to his Apostles: "As you go, make this proclamation: 'The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.' Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, drive out demons. Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give. Do not take gold or silver or copper for your belts; no sack for the journey, or a second tunic, or sandals, or walking stick. The laborer deserves his keep." (Mt 10:7-8)
Profit margins, feasibility studies, and corporate investments. If you look at the Times, the Wall Street Journal, or the economist, it can seem that our world is nothing more than a market for economic profits and losses. Sometimes that attitude even creeps up into our own lives. How many times have we avoided facing a problem because it would take too long to deal with? How many people have we ignored or disregarded because they are different in any way? How often have we pushed God and His morals to the side because they were inconvenient or "not my thing?"
In today's Gospel we hear Jesus mission His apostles to go and preach throughout the land. They are to go poor, peacefully, and with great trust. Their goal is not to "get ahead" or even to feel good about themselves. Their goal is simply to, "proclaim: the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand." The apple of their eye is not gain, prestige, or comfort. Their focus is walking in the Spirit of the Lord and sharing it with all they meet. If they meet success, great. It is for the Lord. If they meet failure, fine. Jesus said it would be part of the deal.
Christian life is no easy task. We too are called to go out and proclaim the Kingdom of God is at hand. Successes throughout our history are quite evident, but so too are our failures and rejections. Yet we still continue onward, not in fear of "getting it wrong" or even in the hopes of "making it big," but because we are filled with God's free and grace-filled love. We are freely being the people God wants us to be and loving (most) every minute of it.
Last night a few novices and I were sharing the values of both consolations and desolations in this vocation. Contrary to conventional wisdom, desolation is as instructing and grace-filled as consolation, it's just harder to see and not always evident at first sight. The struggles I have had as a novice with prayer, community life, and the apostolate, with further reflection and generosity with the Lord, turn out to be some of the most gifted experiences I could ask for.
Those graces, all graces, are freely given from the Lord. Look, and you shall receive. What a gift--one so great that it can only spill out of us and be shared. As Christ commands, "Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give"
Profit margins, feasibility studies, and corporate investments. If you look at the Times, the Wall Street Journal, or the economist, it can seem that our world is nothing more than a market for economic profits and losses. Sometimes that attitude even creeps up into our own lives. How many times have we avoided facing a problem because it would take too long to deal with? How many people have we ignored or disregarded because they are different in any way? How often have we pushed God and His morals to the side because they were inconvenient or "not my thing?"
In today's Gospel we hear Jesus mission His apostles to go and preach throughout the land. They are to go poor, peacefully, and with great trust. Their goal is not to "get ahead" or even to feel good about themselves. Their goal is simply to, "proclaim: the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand." The apple of their eye is not gain, prestige, or comfort. Their focus is walking in the Spirit of the Lord and sharing it with all they meet. If they meet success, great. It is for the Lord. If they meet failure, fine. Jesus said it would be part of the deal.
Christian life is no easy task. We too are called to go out and proclaim the Kingdom of God is at hand. Successes throughout our history are quite evident, but so too are our failures and rejections. Yet we still continue onward, not in fear of "getting it wrong" or even in the hopes of "making it big," but because we are filled with God's free and grace-filled love. We are freely being the people God wants us to be and loving (most) every minute of it.
Last night a few novices and I were sharing the values of both consolations and desolations in this vocation. Contrary to conventional wisdom, desolation is as instructing and grace-filled as consolation, it's just harder to see and not always evident at first sight. The struggles I have had as a novice with prayer, community life, and the apostolate, with further reflection and generosity with the Lord, turn out to be some of the most gifted experiences I could ask for.
Those graces, all graces, are freely given from the Lord. Look, and you shall receive. What a gift--one so great that it can only spill out of us and be shared. As Christ commands, "Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give"
