19th October 2014 Sunday Reading & Meditation Readings: Isaiah 60:1-6; Psalm 95:1,3-5,7-10; Romans 10:9-18; Matthew 28:16-20. “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations” Gospel reading: Matthew 28:16-20. The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshipped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.” REFLECTION: Today, the Church celebrates Mission Sunday. The Church, by her very nature is missionary. She reaches out to all the people and especially to the so-called “unlovables” and “untouchables.” Hence if we truly want to be the missionaries of God’s love and joy, we have to reach out to all, including: the poor, the orphan, the alien, the widow, the helpless, the least, the lost and the last. In today’s First Reading, Isaiah 60:1-6, Jerusalem is invited to be ready to receive all her scattered children. She is to be a light for the lost, that her people seeing her light, may be drawn to her. St Paul (Romans 10:9-18 2nd reading), invites the Romans to receive both the Jews and the Gentiles. Jesus in the Gospel (Matthew 28:16-20) extends the boundaries of mission to the whole world. His disciples are to go to the whole world to give the people Jesus’ message and make them his disciples. He assures them of his presence with them. One can be a missionary in the eyes of God at five different levels: a) Human, b) Christian, c) Catholic, d) Religious and e) Spiritual. a) Our Human Mission: God has created all human beings in his own image and likeness. Hence we serve people not because they belong to a particular religion, faith tradition, caste, language or culture. We take the human being as a measure of everything. Our human mission embraces people from all walks of life. By this we fulfil the command of Jesus to go to all the nations. b) Our Christian Mission: Jesus told his disciples to baptize people in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Our Christian mission cannot be limited simply to the act of baptism. We are to inculcate the love of the Father, the peace of the Son and the fellowship of the Spirit in a society, starved of love, peace and fellowship. This may be true not only of those who are outside the Church but also of those within the Church. Our Christian mission is to re-evangelize our own brethren, reminding them of the Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation and the effect in their lives. c) Our Catholic Mission: “Teach them to observe all that I have commanded you,” is part of the great mission command of Jesus. The Church’s teaching office consists of three pillars. Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition and the Teaching of the Magisterium which form a single deposit of faith. As a disciple of Christ, I make it my obligation as well as my right, to know and to study the teaching of these three pillars. Hence my Catholic mission springs from this teaching. d) Our Religious Mission: That Jesus is giving this mission command basically to ‘the eleven disciples’, is indicative of some special mission, entrusted to them. They stand also for the religious, who commit themselves to the mission of God by way of living the vows of chastity, poverty and obedience. These vows help the religious to be available, adaptable and accountable for the mission of Jesus. e) Our Spiritual Mission: Mission has to be based on some spiritual experience. The disciples were taken as far as the mountain in Galilee. There they worshipped Jesus and then they received their mission. Any mission which is not based on some spiritual foundation runs the risk of turning out to be personal agenda and a professional project. It hardly gives the people an experience of the continuous presence of Jesus with the disciples. On this day, let us ask the Lord to give us an experience of his life-giving presence so that we may carry out our Human, Christian, Catholic, Religious and Spiritual Mission in an effective manner. So, celebrating Mission Sunday means the time to review one’s mission as a human being, as a Christian, as a Catholic, as a Religious and as a spiritual person. With true repentance let us cleanse our hearts and our minds, so that we may see our God in the liturgy we celebrate and in the life we live 1st Reading. Isaiah 60:1-6 60Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. 2For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will appear over you. 3Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. 4Lift up your eyes and look around; they all gather together, they come to you; your sons shall come from far away, and your daughters shall be carried on their nurses’ arms. 5Then you shall see and be radiant; your heart shall thrill and rejoice, because the abundance of the sea shall be brought to you, the wealth of the nations shall come to you. 6A multitude of camels shall cover you, the young camels of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come. They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall proclaim the praise of the Lord. [ from the Sunday Litrugy] “Lord, we thank you for the gift of the Church, Your vineyard; and for Your missionaries for all that they have done for the growth of Your Kingdom. Help us to be faithful to our call and mission, and give us generous hearts to reach out to as many people as possible, and in as many ways as possible”. Psalm 95:1,3-5,7-10 O sing a new song to the Lord, sing to the Lord all the earth. tell among the nations his glory and his wonders among all the peoples. The Lord is great and worthy of praise, to be feared above all gods; the gods of the heathens are naught. It was the Lord who made the heavens, Give the Lord, you families of peoples, give the Lord glory and power; give the Lord the glory of his name. Bring an offering and enter his courts. Worship the Lord in his temple. O earth, tremble before him. Proclaim to the nations: ‘God is king.’ He will judge the peoples in fairness. 1st Reading. Romans 10:9-18 9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. 11 As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.”[a] 12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”[b] 14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”[c] 16 But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?”[d] 17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ. 18 But I ask: Did they not hear? Of course they did: “Their voice has gone out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.”[e]
Posted on: Sun, 19 Oct 2014 05:26:18 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015