Saturday, October 06, 2007
Friday, October 05, 2007
Thursday, October 04, 2007
Evangelizing as lambs, not wolves
Today's Memorial: Saint Francis of Assisi
Jesus wants us all to be workers in the Lord's harvest. In today's Gospel passage, he's commissioning 72 disciples and sending them forth on evangelization missions. Notice that he's not limiting this important work to just the Top Twelve Disciples. He sent forth a large contingent of followers, and then he went on to say that there weren't enough of them.
Today he's still doing this at the end of every Mass. When the priest gives us the final blessing to send us forth, it's not really him doing it — it's Jesus himself. And is he still saying that there aren't enough of us working this harvest?
Saint Francis of Assisi is famous for teaching that all Christians should preach the Gospel at all times, "and sometimes use words." Our lives — how we respond to crises, how we treat others, how we rely on faith when there are reasons to doubt, how we deal with suffering, how much we care about social justice and what we do about injustices within and outside our churches — are the harvesting tools that evangelize. We are all commissioned for this mission by virtue of our baptisms. Our everyday lives either witness or fail to witness about God's true nature.
Jesus went on to emphasize that we should evangelize as lambs among wolves. What is a lamb? We know what it meant for Jesus to be THE Lamb, and yes, sometimes we do have to make difficult sacrifices in order to convey God's love. But not all of the time. Jesus was the Lamb of God before he went to the cross. He was the Lamb throughout his ministry, and he is STILL the Lamb.
Being a lamb means being like Jesus in every moment of every day in ordinary ways. The opposite is to be a wolf, one who devours the weak. We become wolves if we attack others for their weak or non-existent faith. We are wolves disguised as lambs if we try to guilt people into going to Mass or force them to obey Church laws or beat the love of God into them by nagging and harping on what is wrong about them.
Wolves tear others down. Lambs inspire faith, and faith, in turn, is what inspires the straying sheep to return to Mass, to obey Church laws, and to accept God's love. Faith is a gift from the Holy Spirit. We cannot expect people to understand the truth that we offer them if God has not yet delivered to them this gift.
Jesus also explained that when we reach out to others, we should evangelize them without carrying our personal baggage into the encounter. The baggage that we might be tempted to bring into a conversation about faith includes low self esteem ("God cannot use me, I can't make a difference") and feelings of superiority ("They're bigger sinners than I am"). Before going out into the world, we need to ask: "What do I tend to bring to others that is not Christ-like?" Pray that Jesus will help you unload this baggage at the door.
credit to:http://gogoodnews.net/DailyReflections
Jesus wants us all to be workers in the Lord's harvest. In today's Gospel passage, he's commissioning 72 disciples and sending them forth on evangelization missions. Notice that he's not limiting this important work to just the Top Twelve Disciples. He sent forth a large contingent of followers, and then he went on to say that there weren't enough of them.
Today he's still doing this at the end of every Mass. When the priest gives us the final blessing to send us forth, it's not really him doing it — it's Jesus himself. And is he still saying that there aren't enough of us working this harvest?
Saint Francis of Assisi is famous for teaching that all Christians should preach the Gospel at all times, "and sometimes use words." Our lives — how we respond to crises, how we treat others, how we rely on faith when there are reasons to doubt, how we deal with suffering, how much we care about social justice and what we do about injustices within and outside our churches — are the harvesting tools that evangelize. We are all commissioned for this mission by virtue of our baptisms. Our everyday lives either witness or fail to witness about God's true nature.
Jesus went on to emphasize that we should evangelize as lambs among wolves. What is a lamb? We know what it meant for Jesus to be THE Lamb, and yes, sometimes we do have to make difficult sacrifices in order to convey God's love. But not all of the time. Jesus was the Lamb of God before he went to the cross. He was the Lamb throughout his ministry, and he is STILL the Lamb.
Being a lamb means being like Jesus in every moment of every day in ordinary ways. The opposite is to be a wolf, one who devours the weak. We become wolves if we attack others for their weak or non-existent faith. We are wolves disguised as lambs if we try to guilt people into going to Mass or force them to obey Church laws or beat the love of God into them by nagging and harping on what is wrong about them.
Wolves tear others down. Lambs inspire faith, and faith, in turn, is what inspires the straying sheep to return to Mass, to obey Church laws, and to accept God's love. Faith is a gift from the Holy Spirit. We cannot expect people to understand the truth that we offer them if God has not yet delivered to them this gift.
Jesus also explained that when we reach out to others, we should evangelize them without carrying our personal baggage into the encounter. The baggage that we might be tempted to bring into a conversation about faith includes low self esteem ("God cannot use me, I can't make a difference") and feelings of superiority ("They're bigger sinners than I am"). Before going out into the world, we need to ask: "What do I tend to bring to others that is not Christ-like?" Pray that Jesus will help you unload this baggage at the door.
credit to:http://gogoodnews.net/DailyReflections
YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES!
Figure it out for yourself, my lad,
You've all that the greatest of men have had;
Two arms, two hands, two legs, two eyes,
And a brain to use if you would be wise,
With this equipment they all began---
So start from the top and say, “I can.”
Look them over, the wise and the great,
They take their food from a common plate,
And similar knives and forks they use,
With similar laces they tie their shoes;
The world considers them brave and smart,
But you've all they had when they made their start.
You can triumph and come to skill,
You can be great if you only will;
You're well equipped for what fight you choose,
You have arms and legs and a brain to use;
And the man who has risen great deeds to do,
Began his life with no more than you.
You are the handicap you must face,
You are the one who must choose your place.
You must say where you want to go,
How much you will study the truth to know;
God has equipped you for life,
but HeLets you decide what you want to be.
Courage must come from the soul within
The man must furnish the will to win.
So figure it out for yourself, my lad,
You were born with all that the great have had;
With your equipment they all began,
Get hold of yourself and say, “I can.”
Author Unknown
credit to: http://www.Godswork.org
You've all that the greatest of men have had;
Two arms, two hands, two legs, two eyes,
And a brain to use if you would be wise,
With this equipment they all began---
So start from the top and say, “I can.”
Look them over, the wise and the great,
They take their food from a common plate,
And similar knives and forks they use,
With similar laces they tie their shoes;
The world considers them brave and smart,
But you've all they had when they made their start.
You can triumph and come to skill,
You can be great if you only will;
You're well equipped for what fight you choose,
You have arms and legs and a brain to use;
And the man who has risen great deeds to do,
Began his life with no more than you.
You are the handicap you must face,
You are the one who must choose your place.
You must say where you want to go,
How much you will study the truth to know;
God has equipped you for life,
but HeLets you decide what you want to be.
Courage must come from the soul within
The man must furnish the will to win.
So figure it out for yourself, my lad,
You were born with all that the great have had;
With your equipment they all began,
Get hold of yourself and say, “I can.”
Author Unknown
credit to: http://www.Godswork.org
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