Living The Gospel As a Missionary Disciple

Homily for Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

Most of us don’t have a sense that we are called to be missionaries. I mean if you asked most people about missionaries, they would answer in terms of priests or religious brothers or sisters travelling to far-off countries to preach the Gospel. The problem with this kind of thinking is that it lets the average person off the hook. The reality is that we are all meant to be prophets like Amos in the first reading from the Old Testament, and we are all meant to be missionaries like the Twelve who were sent out by Jesus, as we hear in the Gospel for this Sunday. And if we feel inadequate to the task, we are in good company with Amos and the Twelve.

You see, Amos was not a professional prophet in any sense of the word. He didn’t belong to a family of prophets or come from a particular school of prophets; he was just a shepherd and a dresser of sycamore fig trees; in other words, he was a simple farmer. And yet, we hear that God called him and sent him to prophesy to the people of Israel.

The Twelve weren’t much better off in terms of qualifications. For the most part they were illiterate, simple men; many of them fishermen. And yet, Jesus called them to be apostles and sent them out in pairs as missionaries. St Paul, the author of the Letter to the Ephesians which we read from for our second reading for this Mass, was an unlikely choice of a missionary. Remember he had been the great persecutor of the Church before his conversion. We might see something of ourselves in simplicity or unsuitability of Amos, the Twelve, or St Paul, and yet, like them we are sent on mission.

Through our Baptism, we are priests, prophets, and kings. This means we are called to be holy, we are called to have a shepherd’s heart for all people, and we must speak the Word of God into the situations in which we find ourselves.

There should be no doubt that we are called to be disciples of Jesus. The reason we are engaging with the Scriptures, gathering as a community, and celebrating the sacraments is because this is what is expected of disciples of Jesus. And essentially, disciples make disciples of others. The best way to sum up this truth is to say that we are called to be missionary disciples. We have a Gospel to proclaim; all of us. Right from the beginning, starting with Jesus’ first disciples, Christians were preachers of the Gospel. To be a Christian means to be sent on a mission because the Church is essentially missionary.

In reality, let’s admit that this is not something we as Church are terribly good at. We have either privatised our Christian faith, making it something just between God and us as individuals, meaning that we are uncomfortable with, and uninclined to speak of God and the things of God; or we are ill- equipped to live as active disciples in the world today. Perhaps it is fair to say, sad as it is, that there are so many baptised persons out there who have yet to realise their calling and the responsibility that flows from Baptism. Let the readings this Sunday prompt us all to consider where we stand in terms of this. How do we measure up?

Consider where your mission field is. Amos was sent from his own home country of Judah to the land of Israel. The Twelve were initially sent out by Jesus to the people of Israel. As missionary disciples your mission field is your everyday life, among your family, friends, co-workers and neighbours.

Of course, the adage applies: We cannot give to others what we don’t have ourselves. This is a call to each of us to be re-evangelised constantly, to be connected to, and engaged with the Good News. Every day we need to enter into, and make ourselves aware again, of the gifts we have been given through the grace of Christ so that we will be better at giving Christ to others. In other words, we need to constantly renew our sense of the good news of the Gospel for ourselves, so that having been transformed and inspired by the Gospel, we are empowered and motivated to share it with others.

Consider what we can expect on this mission. Certainly, it is not easy. See the opposition that Amos faced. The priest, Amaziah, rejected Amos and tried to expel him. He wasn’t popular. Those who have the courage to speak the truth of God’s Word seldom are. But Amos had the confidence that he, unlikely as it seemed, was called by God to prophesy to Israel. Take Paul for example. He wrote this extraordinarily beautiful text that we have for our second reading today. This text does not imply that he had a rosy, comfortable life after his conversion. He was routinely persecuted and rejected throughout his missionary journeys, culminating in his martyrdom. Take the Twelve for example. Jesus himself says in this Gospel passage that they would be rejected and tells them how to handle the refusal to hear them.

Of course, it is obvious that this isn’t exactly a pep talk for assuming our role as missionary disciples, but it is good dose of realism. We should not be surprised if we are not everywhere and at all times welcomed and listened to. The converse is also true; if we never encounter any opposition, it might well say something about the quality of our missionary presence in our community and beyond. The bumper sticker adage applies, “If you were arrested for being Christian would there be any evidence to convict you?”

The upside of this is that we are not called to be successful, but to be faithful. Once we are doing our part, we can safely leave the success of the mission up to God, knowing that the results might not even appear to be successful by our standards.

If then, you and I are to be preachers of the Gospel and missionaries of Christ, there are two questions we can ask: What is the content of the message we are meant to give? And, how are we to preach the Gospel? The content of the Gospel is beautifully summarised in the second reading today from Ephesians. In it we read that we are chosen and blessed by God. We are known intimately by God and loved by God. The famous quote from Pope Benedict XVI applies: “Each of us matters. Each of us is the result of a thought of God, each of us is willed by God.” This passage tells us about the person of Christ through we have been redeemed and forgiven. Through the loving grace of God, we have been joined to Christ and we share an inheritance of love with him. We have been sealed by the Holy Spirit as a guarantee of the promise of God.

Informed by Word of God in this text, we could sum up the message of the Gospel as follows: God is a Father to us all. We are known and loved by God individually and personally. Each of us has value. We matter to God. We are chosen by God. Our sins can be forgiven. We are promised life in union with God forever. We live through the work of Christ and the Holy Spirit in us. Surely, this is something worth sharing?

So how are we to preach the Gospel, how are we to be missionaries? We are called to bring Christ into the world that we face each day, in the situations and needs of our daily lives. Pope St Paul VI said that people put more trust in witnesses than in teachers, in lived experience than in teaching, in life and action rather than in theories. Our way of life must give credibility to the words we speak. Our way of life raises precise questions which lead people to God and to his Gospel.

This Sunday we can start again and the best place to start is with ourselves. Let’s be renewed, enthused, and evangelised again; let’s embrace the Gospel ourselves; let it touch our lives. May we know and experience God’s saving love for us in Jesus Christ. Be set on fire by the Holy Spirit. Start living as a missionary disciple. Change, challenge and transform the world around you by word and deed, and in the power of God’s love.