Dear Friends,
This weekend, we have our yearly Mission Co-Op preacher. As we mentioned last week, Fr. Kwangkyu, a Columban Missionary, will be presiding and preaching at all the Masses. He is from Korea and has been doing mission work in the Philippines. I hope you have a chance to chat with him over the weekend.
While I’ve never left our country to do ministry, my years at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish certainly felt like being a missionary in a foreign land. I had to work in a language that was not my own in a culture that was very different from the one I knew growing up. While the work was always challenging, I learned a lot of things about myself, our culture and the invitation of Jesus.
You and I are regularly reminded that we have all been called to be missionary disciples. This work is not just for Fr. Kwangkyu but for you and me. Jesus sent out his disciples to proclaim Good News and so he sends you out to proclaim Good News. Perhaps it would be helpful if I share with you some things I learned about Jesus’ call to mission during my years at Guadalupe.
First, it may not be immediately obvious how being sent by Jesus is freeing but it is. Consider that when we know we are called to do something by someone in authority, we are often more courageous and diligent in doing it, even if it is hard. For example, if the boss, the mayor, the governor…asks us to do something and we are acting in his/her name, it is easier to do. When Jesus asks…even when people react poorly, we need not be discouraged for we know that we are under the orders of God. As St. Paul tells us, we are ambassadors, ambassadors for Christ.
Second, Jesus encouraged his followers to go and preach without baggage, without stuff. You and I have lots of stuff, and stuff needs attention, maintenance, and money; it takes up space and ties us down. We also have the baggage and clutter of too many commitments. We’re overscheduled and overbooked. We have many disordered priorities such that we spend too much time worrying about things that don’t matter all that much in the end, and what does matter gets put on hold. Real freedom can come with simplicity of life and focus. Missionary discipleship reminds us that we are just passing through in this world. This is not our home. We are simply stopping here on our way to heaven. God has much better “stuff” waiting for us there. Frankly, God has much better “stuff” for us even in this life if we but live with right priorities.
Third, Jesus warned his disciples that not everyone will be open to hearing the Good News. One of the greatest freedoms of all is the gift to be free of our obsession with being liked, approved of, and popular. This is not an invitation to be impolite or to fail to make ourselves presentable. Rather, it is an invitation to be free of our obsession with popularity so that we can shake off the rejection of the gospel that we will inevitably experience. Jesus invites us into the only relationship that really matters, the relationship with God. Out of that relationship, all other relationships will grow and flourish.
Last of all, the message we bring is not about us. The message is from and about Jesus. We are simply repeating what Jesus taught. Simply be his loving presence in the world and the Spirit will do the rest. Pope Francis often speaks about the ministry of accompaniment. Are you able to walk with someone, eat with someone, or sit with someone? That is all it takes. You do not have to be a great scholar. Just by being a loving presence you can help another person know in some small way the God who loves them.
Being a missionary disciple sets us spiritually free. More than that, it breaks our hearts open so God can come in.
Peace,
Fr. Damian