20240925 A DELEGATED AND SHARED MISSION
First reading | Proverbs 30:5-9 |
Give me neither riches nor poverty, only my share
Every word of God is unalloyed,
he is the shield of those who take refuge in him.
To his words make no addition,
lest he reprove you and know you for a fraud.
Two things I beg of you,
do not grudge me them before I die:
keep falsehood and lies far from me,
give me neither poverty nor riches,
grant me only my share of bread to eat,
for fear that surrounded by plenty, I should fall away
and say, ‘the Lord – who is the Lord?’
or else, in destitution, take to stealing
and profane the name of my God.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 118(119):28,72,89,101,104,163 |
Your word is a lamp for my steps, O Lord.
My soul pines away with grief;
by your word raise me up.
The law from your mouth means more to me
than silver and gold.
Your word is a lamp for my steps, O Lord.
Your word, O Lord, for ever
stands firm in the heavens:
I turn my feet from evil paths
to obey your word.
Your word is a lamp for my steps, O Lord.
I gain understanding from your precepts
and so I hate false ways.
Lies I hate and detest
but your law is my love.
Your word is a lamp for my steps, O Lord.
Gospel Acclamation | cf.Col3:16a,17 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Let the message of Christ, in all its richness,
find a home with you;
through him give thanks to God the Father.
Alleluia!
Or: | Mk1:15 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
The kingdom of God is close at hand:
repent and believe the Good News.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 9:1-6 |
'Take nothing for the journey'
Jesus called the Twelve together and gave them power and authority over all devils and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal. He said to them, ‘Take nothing for the journey: neither staff, nor haversack, nor bread, nor money; and let none of you take a spare tunic. Whatever house you enter, stay there; and when you leave, let it be from there. As for those who do not welcome you, when you leave their town shake the dust from your feet as a sign to them.’ So they set out and went from village to village proclaiming the Good News and healing everywhere.
25 September 2024, Wednesday, 25th Week in Ordinary Time
A DELEGATED AND SHARED MISSION
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [PROVERBS 30:5-9; LUKE 9:1-6]
Most leaders are protective of their powers and authority. They hoard power for fear that they would lose control over their lives, their security, their sense of well-being and wealth. A great leader is one who comes to make others great. A powerful leader is one who seeks to empower others. This is the kind of leadership that Jesus displayed in His life. One of His priorities in His mission was to form leaders and shepherds after Him. He knew that if the mission were to continue and the gospel preached to all the nations, He would need to delegate His authority and mission to His apostles and disciples.
Consequently, as ministers of the gospel and as disciples of the Lord, we must never forget that the authority we have is a delegated and bestowed authority. We do not appoint ourselves or send ourselves. We must remember the theology of mission, of being sent. The Father sent us His Son and together they sent us the Holy Spirit to empower us to be sent out to proclaim the Gospel. Hence, we are responsible to those who have sent us. Just as the apostles were to give accountability to our Lord, so, too, the ministers of the gospel, having been appointed by the bishops, are to be accountable to them. All ministries, whether it is the Pope, the bishops, the priests, or lay leaders are delegated authority. This is why all Church leaders are called “ministers”, which simply means, servants. They are called to servant stewardship.
For this reason, the ministry of the disciples mirrored the ministry of our Lord. They were called to share in His mission. What is this mission? “Jesus called the Twelve together and gave them power and authority over all devils and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal.” It is significant that the apostles were asked to heal and deliver those under the bondage of the Evil One. At the same time, they were called to cure diseases and to heal. Deliverance and healing are constitutive of the proclamation of the gospel. They are signs of the arrival of God’s power and sovereignty over all creation. The Good News is not merely words but divine actions working in and through us for the salvation of the entire person, body, soul and spirit.
Because the ministry of the disciples is a delegated authority, they had to depend on the Lord for everything. Dependence on the Lord is what makes this entire mission truly a delegated mission. The disciples were not expected to carry out the mission of the Lord using their own strength, their ingenuity, planning and strategy. Rather, as apostles, being ambassadors of Christ, they must act on His behalf and speak on what they have been told and act according to how Christ would act. They are to carry out the mission according to what the Lord has instructed them.
The sign of this total dependence on the Lord is the spirit of poverty and detachment. He said to them, “Take nothing for the journey: neither staff, nor haversack, nor bread, nor money, and let none of you take a spare tunic. Whatever house you enter, stay there; and when you leave, let it be from there. As for those who do not welcome you, when you leave, shake the dust from your feet as a sign to them.” The instructions of our Lord are simple. They were to travel light, unencumbered by the things of this world. They were to live simply and keep their lodging basic. In Luke’s gospel, they were not allowed to even carry a staff, and they were to stay in any house they entered. There is no question of searching for a suitable host or house. These instructions underscore that the disciples must totally depend on the Lord and divine providence, lest they think that the success of their mission was due to their hard work and creativity. This dependence on the Lord for us would mean that we need to believe in the power of prayer and also divine providence in carrying out His work. The truth is that we rely more on our resources than on God because we want to work without prayers!
Indeed, humility and modesty are an important virtue to cultivate in collaborating with the mission of our Lord. We must not seek for personal gain, wealth, glory or power; not even to seek attention to oneself, which is the temptation of ministers. This is why even in ministry, there is jealousy among ministers and lay leaders or organizations. We want to be better than the rest because our well-being is dependent on how people perceive of us. So, we are envious of other ministers and organizations, especially if they are doing well. We should be happy when the gospel is preached and not because we are the ones that made it happen. If we are too preoccupied with getting credit for our ministry, we will be tempted to compromise the gospel to suit the demands of the world rather than challenging the world to repent and measure up to the demands of the gospel.
The first reading from the Book of Proverbs should keep us focused on our mission. We must hang on to every word that comes from our Lord. The author says, “Every word of God is unalloyed, he is the shield of those who take refuge in him. To his words make no addition, lest he reprove you and know you for a fraud.” Indeed, we must take the Word of God seriously and accept them as God’s Word, not man’s. We should avoid any attempt to dilute the Word of God and make it acceptable to man. On the contrary, the Word of God is preached to challenge us and to raise us up, not to keep us in our status quo. As St Paul wrote, “All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.” (2 Tim 3:16f) To compromise the Word of God makes us a fraud. In so doing, we also deceive those entrusted to our care. Just because the Word of God is hard and demanding, we have no authority to change His Word because His word is life.
Secondly, we must surrender all we have to the Lord and seek to do His holy will. The author reminds us to seek what is necessary for us in life and be contented with what we have. Riches and poverty can be distracting to our mission and our love for God and our brothers and sisters. When we have wealth, we have challenges using our wealth properly and wisely for the good of others and for the service of our fellowmen. When we are poor, we can be tempted to greed and seek to manipulate people in our service. We can use even the ministry to enrich ourselves by going after the wealth and generosity of our good faithful. Instead of keeping ourselves focused on proclaiming the gospel according to the means that the Lord has given to us, we are always thinking of making money and becoming rich.
For this reason, the author prayed thus, “Two things I beg of you, do not grudge me them before I die: keep falsehood and lies far from me, give me neither poverty nor riches, grant me only my share of bread to eat, for fear that surrounded by plenty, I should fall away and say, “The Lord – who is the Lord?” or else, in destitution, take to stealing and profane the name of my God.” Indeed, we must pray that we walk in the truth according to the Word of God. With the psalmist we pray, “Your word is a lamp for my steps, O Lord. Your word, O Lord, for ever stands firm in the heavens: I turn my feet from evil paths to obey your word. I gain understanding from your precepts and so I hate false ways. Lies I hate and detest but your law is my love.” Secondly, we should not seek riches or poverty but to do the will of God. As the Lord said, instead of striving “for all these things, and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things, strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Mt 6:32f)
In other words, let us use whatever the Lord has blessed us with for the establishment of His Kingdom. If the Lord has given us talents, resources, wealth, power and influence, we must not use them to enrich ourselves but to empower others and to serve the common good. This is what our Lord did, by sharing His authority and power with His disciples; and then invite them to share with us. Together, we are empowered to build the Kingdom of God with the means He has given to us. Beyond which, it is not our task. We should not be worried of having to do more than what we can. It is the Lord’s work in us. We only need to do His will and do our part according to His plan for us, in His vineyard. Only then, will we be at peace, knowing that we are with Him and rejoicing that His kingdom is being established.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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