Equipped for Mission

Today’s Gospel Text:  And he called to him the twelve, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. 8 He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts; 9 but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics. 10 And he said to them, "Where you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place. 11 And if any place will not receive you and they refuse to hear you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet for a testimony against them." 12 So they went out and preached that men should repent. 13 And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many that were sick and healed them. Mark 6:7-13

Reflection: If someone sends you on a mission, then that person is not bothered with any ordinary trivial matters.  You will normally send people on a mission, with the key matter in question and with everything related to the mission.  So also you will equip a person delegated, according to your mission.

If in case you send a person to a famine ravaged place and your mission is to reach out to the famished people with food then you would equip the one sent, with food and water. If it is clothing and shelter, then you would equip them accordingly and if it is medical aid then you will help them carry the necessary emergency treatments. 

Likewise Jesus sends his disciples on an important mission and one of the key areas of dealings are the evil unclean spirits. 

For this very purpose Jesus came into the world and for this purpose he offered himself so that kingdom of Satan may be vanquished from our lives: “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.”  1 John 3:8

The Christian world view clearly reveals to us that, apart from Christ, we are already in the kingdom of darkness, irrespective of our personal choice. (Col. 1:13; Eph. 5:8; 1 Pt. 2:9; 1Jn. 2:9; Rm. 13:2; 2Cor.4:6) If we do not make a choice for Jesus, then we continue to remain in darkness.  Therefore, he who does not believe is already condemned already.  (Jn. 3:18)

Every disciple of Christ cannot go on field with a mere knowledge of theology, degrees, certificates and sound character. They have to be equipped with the faculty to cast out the forces of darkness and to war against it. 

“For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”  Eph 6:12

Prayer:  Lord, equip me with the weapons of righteousness and grace, with authority and power so as to be your instrument against the forces of darkness.

DD = Dedicated Discipleship:  Come grow in the Lord with us

Before you Malign

Today’s Gospel Text:  "A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master; 25 it is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Be-el'zebul, how much more will they malign those of his household.  26 "So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. 27 What I tell you in the dark, utter in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim upon the housetops. 28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground without your Father's will. 30 But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. 32 So every one who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven; 33 but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven. Matt 10:24-33

Reflection: They called him, the master Jesus Christ, a Beelzebub; which means Lord or Prince of the Devil or Demons. 

It was no ordinary maligning, inviting a a terrible consequence. 

You could malign a person either out of hate or some half baked knowledge about a person.  It could be on the basis of false information you have gathered about a person or it could be due to your own prejudice. 

Maligning a godly man, the anointed one of God. is a serious business, with wide ramifications.  When you malign an anointed man falsely, you are not only hitting out against the concerned person, but you are also inviting a curse upon yourself and the many. 

I am saying this not just from a spiritual point of view but also from a logical angle. 

By doing so, you close yourself from receiving the truth of life and the truth of the gospel that is able to save you. In the process of maligning, you are also encouraging others too to do the same and thus invite others too to participate in your sin.  This then is passed on from one generation to another.

In the bargain, the Gospel that is able to save us is rejected in our hearts and mind and in the hearts of the many who have allowed themselves to be deceived or hurt by believing your story against the anointed one; thus they too are prevented from walking in the truth of the Gospel of Christ.

The Equation: The greater the maligning the more severe the self inflicted judgment, on yourself, on others who have partook of it and on your children and generations to follow.

This is besides the judgment and wrath of God on those who persist in such sinful activity as maligning the  innocent anointed.

To come out of such habitual sins, one has to take a serious look at one’s limitation to know, apart from God's help.  This requires a training of the mind in the word of God so as to receive from his wisdom to understand and judge situations and people appropriately.  

Prayer: Grant me a discerning heart, that I may love your people with wisdom.

DD = Dedicated Discipleship:  Come grow in the Lord with us

Wolves in our Midst

Today’s Gospel Text:  "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. 17 Beware of men; for they will deliver you up to councils, and flog you in their synagogues, 18 and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear testimony before them and the Gentiles. 19 When they deliver you up, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour; 20 for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. 21 Brother will deliver up brother to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death; 22 and you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved. 23 When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next; for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel, before the Son of man comes. Matt 10:16-23

Reflection: Come on Jesus; don’t tell me there are wolves in our midst. Please, this is discrimination, my Lord. How can you say that there are wolves in our midst? Maybe that generation was different. 

Do you want to test these words of Jesus? Then start proclaiming the Gospel and see how you start ruffling those feathers of the wolves in birds feathers.  You will be surprised that those whom you thought could be wolves, turned out to be lambs and those whom you thought to be innocent lambs, turn out to be wolves.

They oppose the Gospel which makes them discomforted and will give it their own twist and turn and find every reason why the gospel should not be preached in its entirety. Some of them will have their own agenda and with jealousy creeping in they begin to lose sense of the priority of life.

If anyone feels that this is not true in our civilized culture, then one is mistaken.  It happens everywhere and anywhere where the gospel of Christ is preached in an unalloyed manner and tenor.

The whole society is, as if, hijacked by these classes of wolves and foxes, that we have failed to produce people who can clearly understand the truth, let alone proclaim it.  We have been distracted by our wrong priorities of life and failed to see the eternal purpose of our existence.

Hence these types of persecution have taken on a new form in many societies, which claim to be civilized.  It is an attitude of coldness to the truth of faith- a certain belief in the faulty scientific reasoning’s or an agnostic indifference or an outright rejection.

But the creative ability of the Holy Spirit at work in the hearts of those who open themselves to his working can go on undeterred by any obstacles, venturing into ever new frontiers. The good news is able to offer the true hope to mankind and is able to transform us, if it is sought by a sincere heart, in the midst of its many confusions.

Prayer: “They surrounded me like bees, they blazed like a fire of thorns; in the name of the Lord I cut them off! I was pushed hard, so that I was falling, but the Lord helped me. The Lord is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation.” Ps 118:12-14

DD = Dedicated Discipleship:  Come grow in the Lord with us

Sincere Preaching

Today’s Gospel Text:  And preach as you go, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.' 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying, give without pay. 9 Take no gold, nor silver, nor copper in your belts, 10 no bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor a staff; for the laborer deserves his food. 11 And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it, and stay with him until you depart. 12 As you enter the house, salute it. 13 And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. 14 And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet as you leave that house or town. 15 Truly, I say to you, it shall be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomor'rah than for that town.Mt.10:7-15

Reflection: For a sincere teacher, this passage of scripture requires guts to expound; more so, if one has to teach with authority or teach from experience. 

It is said that you cannot preach what you don’t practice. How then can I preach a message which in reality I don’t practice and more so if I don't believe? 

There are some who have been gutsy enough to preach this text; but given it their own slant and watered down the gospel to mere moral codes.  They will tell you to preach by your deeds, meaning to say, by sound character and high standard of morality.

As discussed elsewhere in my article, even the term; "practice what you preach" is false to the idea of true preaching. 

It cannot be so, because when Jesus sent his Dedicated Disciples to preach the Kingdom; he did not send them with a human agenda to transform society, set those who are oppressed by the rich and wealthy free, establish a kingdom of justice peace and brotherhood, work for an equality in society and overthrow every oppressive structures, wipe out structures of sin and corruption, etc.

Nor did Jesus send them out with instructions to witness by deeds in the sense indicated above; sound moral and good character.

The mission of Jesus cannot be confused with any other deeds other than the deeds of the Gospel, the deeds of the manifestations of the Holy Spirit through the chosen instrument of God: “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons.” (vs 8)

Hence what is written, by way of directions, for a mission, is the standard. When a sincere preacher dwells and preaches on this text, he always does it with humility of heart, examining his conscience and reproaching it for not being true. He seeks from the Lord that grace in true humility and sound character to be true to his word in every way, seeking his glory through a weak instrument as himself.

Prayer:  Lord, pour out you Holy Spirit on all who seek to be your instrument and may we never feel deterred by the hostility that surrounds us but boldly proclaim you with signs and wonders.

DD = Dedicated Discipleship:  Come grow in the Lord with us

Authority over You

Today’s Gospel Text:   And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every infirmity. 2 The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zeb'edee, and John his brother; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. 5 These twelve Jesus sent out, charging them, "Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, 6 but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And preach as you go, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.' Matt 10:1-7

Reflection: I thought the disciples were already a called people, so why were they  “called to him" again by Jesus?

It’s a mystery which has its answer; the first call was an initial call which is given to each one of us at some point or the other depending on the disposition of our hearts to God and his grace. By responding to that initial call the disciples had given Jesus Christ authority over their lives.

Likewise, each one of us needs to give Jesus, authority over their lives, because “all authority in heaven and on earth belongs to him.” (Mt. 28:18)

Unless we give him that authority, not once, but a constant yes, we cannot be his instrument or disciples.  We need to continue to be his disciples;"If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples.” John 8:31

Only a disciple can be called again and again to be assigned a new responsibility and duty by the master. Only a Dedicated Disciple can be useful for the master for every good work. (cfr. 2 Tim. 2:21) Hence we see in the Gospel text, Jesus calling his Dedicated Disciples to him.

Since these have submitted to his authority, they can now have “authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every infirmity.” They have it because it has been given to him by Jesus. 

Many of us prefer to go out in his name and are in the field in his name, but the question always remain; Have we really responded to his call of discipleship, giving him that Authority (Lordship) over our lives? Or, have we taken it upon ourselves to reach out in his name apart from him and his authority?

Prayer:  Lord, you have committed your Son Jesus with authority over us your people, help us to submit to him always.

DD = Dedicated Discipleship:  Come grow in the Lord with us

Wise Judgments

Today’s Gospel Text:   As they were going away, behold, a dumb demoniac was brought to him. 33 And when the demon had been cast out, the dumb man spoke; and the crowds marveled, saying, "Never was anything like this seen in Israel." 34 But the Pharisees said, "He casts out demons by the prince of demons."

35 And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every infirmity. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest." Matt 9:32-38

Reflection: To hear a word of judgment, a word of condemnation and how discouraged we are to move ahead in life’s journey.

It is the sinful human nature to spew venom and if you thought that it is only women who do it then know that the men too get into such pre-judgments and slander and the Pharisees in the gospel were no less, when they say: "He casts out demons by the prince of demons."

Forming judgments about daily things in life is unavoidable. Our judgments help us to make the better choices of life. When walking we have to make judgments as to which road to take, which side of the road to walk and which way to go. We make judgments about which product to buy and what to cook and what to feed.  A busy life or a life full of activities is a life of constant judgments.

When we make a choice we almost always feel that we are making the best choice in keeping with our means and ability until someone points it out to us or unless we have realized our folly. 

We are limited by our mortality, limitations of being, perception of the future, circumstances of life and upbringing, background, friend circle and relatives, inability to calculate the various variables, etc.   All these factors influences our day to day judgments of things and hence our decision making.

If we can falter, in the ordinary and daily routine of life and its judgment, then how much more in the judgments we form of others.

Worse would be, when we begin to form our judgments about spiritual persons and matters, more so when we know in our hearts that we don’t really understand them.  In fact, it should be the other way; it is the spiritual man who is supposed to judge all things.  But worse still, when we think of a spiritual man as one who is consecrated, with a master in some theological studies, holding some church office but absence of sound Christian spirituality.

  

The spiritual man judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. 1 Cor 2:15

Prayer:  Lord it is with you there is wisdom and might, counsel and understanding, (Job 12:13) may I seek it even as I acknowledge it always. 

DD = Dedicated Discipleship:  Come grow in the Lord with us

Necessity of Faith

Today’s Gospel Text:  While he was thus speaking to them, behold, a ruler came in and knelt before him, saying, "My daughter has just died; but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live." 19 And Jesus rose and followed him, with his disciples. 20 And behold, a woman who had suffered from a hemorrhage for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment; 21 for she said to herself, "If I only touch his garment, I shall be made well." 22 Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, "Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well." And instantly the woman was made well. 23 And when Jesus came to the ruler's house, and saw the flute players, and the crowd making a tumult, 24 he said, "Depart; for the girl is not dead but sleeping." And they laughed at him. 25 But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose. 26 And the report of this went through all that district. Matt 9:18-26

Reflection: One has to be either a mad man to approach someone, in order to raise a dead man or a perfectly sane man, with a faith, that communicates boldness. 

One of the qualities of faith is boldness, where there is no shame.  This boldness flows from a sound knowledge, a sure dedication to the truth and total trust in what one believes.  A boldness based on truth is self sacrificial and willing to face the ignominy of life, for the sake of others.

The ruler in today's gospel was a great example of such sacrificial love. For the sake of his daughter he was willing face the ignominy of a possible foolish request.  For how many have approached Jesus to give life to a dead person and what if his desire would not have been fulfilled or what if the crowd that he was addressing had laughed at him. Who can endure a public shame?

On the other hand we have people who are bold about many matters in the world. Some are bold enough to strip themselves, some are bold enough to tell a lie, some are bold enough to abuse their office and be corrupt, some are bold enough to take a dagger and kill, and some are bold enough to practice all types of corruption.

Yet, if one enters into the psyche of these individuals, whose boldness rests on immorality, we find a certain cowardice element at work in the long run. These are self centered cowards who live for the moment. 

The world still is in need of a faith that is not afraid to proclaim Christ, as did the ruler. This is proclamation by one’s action which is fruit of a resolute non-shrinkable solid faith.   In such faith God is glorified and not the self.

This is the kind of faith that pleases God (cfr. Hb. 11:6)

    

“Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God; consider the outcome of their life, and imitate their faith.”  Heb 13:7

Prayer:  God our Father, as the wickedness in the world increases, we ask you to guide us, your children, that our faith may never grow cold in the face of hostility towards your holy name.  (cfr. Mt. 24: 12-13)

DD = Dedicated Discipleship:  Come grow in the Lord with us