Scripture Reflection, July 12, 2009: Mission Impossible?

Scripture Readings:
Amos 7: 12-15
Psalm 85
Ephesians 1: 3-14
Mark 6: 7-13

A couple of weeks ago there was a story on the national news about health care in the midst an economic recession. It centered on two “retired” doctors in the Irving Park neighborhood of Chicago. These two physicians – one a family practice specialist and the other a psychiatrist – have known one another since they were kids and have enjoyed a long friendship. Each of them retired and was looking to relax and play golf but soon realized that he wanted to do something more meaningful in his senior years. So they opened a clinic in a neighborhood where there are many people who are undeserved and without health insurance. Visits to the clinic are free, and these two doctors are ingenious in convincing pharmaceutical companies to donate free samples of medicine. There was an excitement in their voice as they talked about their outreach to many people who have nowhere else to turn for medical treatment. They possessed a sense of zeal about their work of making good health care available to everyone, no matter what their level of income. They are two men on a mission.

The Scripture readings for this Sunday focus on people who have been given a mission by God. The prophet Amos is given a virtual “mission impossible.” Amos is a blue collar worker, a shepherd and tree expert from the southern kingdom of Judah. He is not a card-carrying member of the “prophets’ union.” He is sent to the prosperous northern kingdom, right to the sacred temple where he meets the temple priest Amaziah. Amaziah is a member of the court who must have graduated magna cum laude from divinity school. Amos is sent to preach a word of challenge to God’s people, especially to the leaders of the northern kingdom of Israel. His is a message of social justice at a time in which many of the poor were being sold into slavery. Amos’ word is very disturbing to the northern kingdom establishment, and he is eventually thrown out of the temple and sent back home. But he proclaimed a badly needed message and became an important part of the Jewish and Christian tradition.

In Mark’s gospel, right after Jesus is rejected in his own hometown he sends out the Twelve to preach repentance, free people from the power of evil, and anoint the sick. The Twelve are entrusted with the message and the mission of Jesus himself. Ultimately, it is a mission of giving life to people. There is a sense of haste, of urgency about their task. They must not take with them things that will weigh them down, that will impede their work. What they are doing is of critical importance to God and to the world, and they need to do it with zeal.

In its origins, the Church was a community of missionaries. That is an important fact for all of us to remember. The Scripture readings for this Sunday invite each one of us to reflect on our own participation in the mission of Jesus. We are challenged to envision our lives – whatever our particular vocation or situation in life – as an integral part of the mission of the Church. Each of us is of critical importance to Jesus’ mission of bringing life to people, of making present the reign of God in our world.

We may wonder what we have to offer others in continuing the mission of Jesus. Perhaps we feel a bit like Amos – ill-equipped for the job. The second reading for this Sunday (Ephesians) gives us a glimpse into what it is we have to share with others. It is a beautiful and stirring text which may have originated in a hymn of the early Church. It would be worthwhile to read it several times and take some time to reflect upon it. It celebrates God’s powerful, indomitable love for us in Christ and our sublime dignity as sons and daughters of God: “God chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him. In love he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ, in accord with the favor of his will. . . . In him we were also chosen . . . so that we might exist for the praise of his glory, we who first hoped in Christ.” As followers of Jesus, as recipients of God’s love in Christ, you and I really do have something to share with other people. In a world where the name of Jesus, and sometimes even the name of God, are often not popular or politically correct to speak, we are sent forth to speak in words and deeds of the love God has shown us in Christ. We are commissioned to proclaim with conviction the truth about the life, mercy and hope that Christ offers us and that he wants to offer every person.

The two physicians featured on network news last week know that they have a critically important mission to provide health care for the needy, and they undertake their work with energy and commitment. Every time we participate in the celebration of the Eucharist we are sent forth from the liturgy to continue the mission of Jesus with energy and commitment: “The Mass is ended. Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.” May the presence of Christ within us become visible to those around us. May we bring the life of Christ to those in need of it.

Fr. Robin Ryan, cp