HOMILY SUNDAY 15 – B

Called to be Apostles

(Amos 7:12-15; Eph 1:3-14; Mk 6:7-13)

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Before he died, the founder of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate gave this advice to the members of his community: Dare to leave no stone unturned.

Today, the gospel invites us to dare to see ourselves as apostles.

Today’s gospel is the third call by Jesus of the apostles. In Chapter one, Jesus called Simon, Andrew, James and John from their fishing career to a new profession of discipleship and to a new family, with very little clarity.

The second call to the apostles in chapter three is more solemn. Jesus takes his disciples up a mountain where he designates twelve as apostles to be taught, given authority and finally sent out on mission.

The third call is in chapter 6, today’s gospel, where Jesus sends them out two by two; where they in reality begin their lives as apostles who are sent out, which is the meaning of the word apostolos.

There are many elements of being apostolic in these readings. First, it is God’s work, not their own. They are authorized by Jesus and empowered by him. There is a danger ministry can be exercised for selfish purposes, to gain attention to one’s self, to one’s work, to be tainted by a kind of personal pride. The harsh reality is that one can do one’s own will in God’s name.

Second, a disciple of Jesus is to travel light. What we must be carrying is the gospel, and as much as is humanly possible, only the gospel, unencumbered by personal or cultural baggage, or even wealth. When Fr. Bill Stang OMI was missioned to Kenya, a temptation was to bring all kinds of money from North America to do things for and build things for the people there. He had to remind some of the Oblates of the mistakes that were made in North America that created a regrettable dependency which affects the ministry here to this day.

A third element of being an apostle is to be ready for failure. Things may not work out as we had planned for a variety of reasons. That was the way it was for Jesus and we can hardly expect anything different. As Mother Theresa put it, we are called to be faithful, not successful. Sometimes failure is necessary to point out the road to success. And always, God will draw good out of apparent failure.

Another element of an apostolic life found in this gospel is the importance of community. Jesus sent his disciples out in pairs. There is great wisdom in this, especially in the present day when there are so many secular and counter-faith pressures put on all believers. This argues for shared leadership and team ministry wherever possible.

Another element the apostles proclaimed was repentance. The reign of God breaking in on us is so new, so profound, so challenging one cannot enter it without a transformation of one’s narrow, culturally shaped notion of life nor without an inner journey into one’s own truth which tends to be sinful and needing to be transformed. Repentance then becomes the key to experiencing the reign of God right here and now, in this life. And so, repenting ourselves and proclaiming the need to repent is the task of the apostle. That puts the spotlight on personal examination of conscience, sorrow, a desire to change, confession of one’s sins, prayer for healing and then going out to live a new way of life in the reign of God.

The 12 Step program of Alcoholics Anonymous has this worked into the Steps, especially Step four which calls for a searching and fearless moral inventory, and Step five in which members admit to God, to themselves and to one other human being the exact nature of their wrongs. That is genuine repentance.

The last element of a truly apostolic ministry is healing. The apostles ministered both physical healing (they anointed people with oil and cured them) as well as inner healing (they cast out many demons in the name of Jesus). That too is our task today, to pray for all kinds of healing, and to expect both personal inner healing as well as physical healing.

The inner healing happens especially when our emotions and attitudes are transformed. Dare I say that it happens most through forgiveness and acceptance? Most people are carrying lifelong burdens of anger and resentment, shock and shame, sadness and self-pity, as well as guilt and fear. Only genuine forgiveness and heartfelt acceptance can lift that spiritual burden.

In the scriptures Jesus over and again teaches the importance of forgiveness. In Matthew 18:15 he shows us how to forgive by sharing our feelings of hurt with our abusers with love, rather than reacting in anger. This and this alone, breaks the cycle of violence that is so rampant in our world, and brings about the inner healing that is so needed today.

The Eucharist an apostolic meal, begun by Jesus himself at the Last Supper, and continued in upper rooms and catacombs for centuries before developing into the liturgy that we celebrate today leading to inner healing for all who participate with faith.

An important part of the Eucharist is the ending, the missioning, in which we are sent out to a wounded and unbelieving world, much as Jesus sent out the apostles in the gospel today. May God bless us all as we take up this apostolic task.