[stephenkhoo]

15 July, 2012, 15th Sunday of Ordinary Time
MISSION PRESUPPOSES VISION AND CONVICTION
SCRIPTURE READINGS: AMOS 7:12-15; EPH 1:3-14; MK 6:7-13

One of the most regrettable attitudes that Catholics have is their apathy towards evangelization. Most of us are complacent, contented, inward looking, and parochial minded. Like Amos, we do not want to be God’s prophets.

So what is the reason for this lack of missionary zeal? Perhaps, smugness and complacency could be the psychological and spiritual reasons. We Catholics are so many that we do not really care whether some members have left our Church or not, less still to be concerned whether new members are joining the Church. Such an attitude reflects the failure to recognize that the Church is missionary in nature.

Perhaps, the real underlying reason for this indifference to the missionary charge is because many of us feel that we do not have the authority to proclaim the Good News. This of course is not true because in theory, by virtue of our baptism and confirmation, we have all been commissioned to preach the Good News to all without exception. So why is there this diffidence? Primarily, we all lack this personal authority that we received in the sacraments of baptism and confirmation. But what are the causes?

Firstly, it is due to the lack of a vision. Vision presupposes mission. Without a vision, there can be no sense of mission in our lives. Indeed, the fundamental reason for the lack of mission in our lives is because we have not yet fully understood the vision of God for us. Unless we grasp the wisdom and beauty of His vision and plan, we will not have the enthusiasm to spread the message. In other words, unless we have been salted with the Good News of God’s plan, we cannot be the Good News to others. What then is this marvelous plan of God for us all that we should be so thrilled about? The answer is found in today’s second reading whereby St Paul gives us an overview of the majestic plan of God. Concretely, the plan of God entails the following.

In the first place, we consider God’s vision for us as individuals. St Paul told us that “before the world was made”; God had chosen us in Christ, “to be holy and spotless, and to live through love in his presence, determining that we should become his adopted sons.” Yes, our calling in life is nothing less than to be the adopted sons of God through Jesus Christ. We are chosen indeed for His greater glory. Now, to be considered as God’s adopted sons implies also a life of true freedom as well; a freedom from sin, from all that enslaves us. This freedom is wrought by the forgiveness given to us in and through Christ who gained our freedom by His victory over sin and death.

Secondly, God’s vision for us as a collective humanity is that all men and women will be transformed in Christ so that we can share in Christ’s sonship. Only when everyone comes to share in the divine sonship of Christ and in His Spirit, will the whole world then come under Christ, who in turn will render everything to the Father; and then God will be all in all. Thus, through Christ, with Christ, in Christ and in the unity of the Holy Spirit, we will come to the Father and share His glory. In this way, all of us will become one in God and God in us so that all of us will come to our destiny and find fullness of life. Such indeed is the grandiose plan of God for us all.

Having understood the hidden plan of God revealed in Christ; having understood our mission, purpose and goal of life, it does not mean that we are ready to undertake the mission of realizing the vision of God. Why? Because, we might have the vision, but we lack the personal conviction. Of course, some of us might be very excited over this vision or plan of God. But vision alone without a personal realization and experience cannot make us great evangelizers. Indeed, although many Catholics are aware of the vision, they remain hardly convinced in the depths of their hearts because they have not experienced the liberating joy of sonship in Christ. Although many of us have been baptized, we still do not enjoy the freedom of the sons and daughters of God. We are still very much attached to our pride, ego, sinfulness and to the world. We still find ourselves unable to let go of our attachment to things and people. We continue to bear grudges against others and cannot forgive. Yes, we are still slaves. As slaves, we cannot be happy. Hence, the joy of the freedom of the sons of God in the second reading does not seem to be true for us. Consequently, the vision remains for us only a dream, a hope but not a reality. As a result, we lack that utter conviction to claim that our vision is real and not a theory only.

But it is also equally true that those who have given themselves to Jesus and His message have also experienced the power of the gospel in their lives. They have experienced for themselves the joy of sonship in Christ. That was what happened to the apostles. They trusted in Jesus and experienced the authority to cast out unclean spirits and heal the sick. They found the joy of living in divine providence because they knew that God was their Abba Father and would look after them as He looked after Jesus. This freedom was manifested in their detachment or holy indifference towards things and people. Within this context, we can therefore understand why Jesus instructed His disciples not to take anything with them in their journey except the barest minimum. For only when they were able to rely totally on the love and providence of God, would their message of God’s kingdom be believed by others.

Indeed, those people who have been touched by God will testify how God has changed their lives. They will tell you how God has empowered them to do things that they could never do, like teaching and proclaiming the gospel; or healing people or forgiving those who have hurt them deeply. Through the power of God, they have learnt how to let go and let God take over. When you have experienced such liberating power within yourselves, you cannot but feel the great joy of sharing it with others. Hence, the authority and power of proclaiming the Good News is not simply a jurisdictional or institutional authority but an authority that comes from an inner conviction as a result of the reception of the Good News ourselves. Thus, we who have heard the good news of salvation will now want to proclaim it to others.

And so if we have not yet been convicted of the Good News, that is, the Vision of God for us and for all of humanity, then perhaps, it is because we have not been receptive to the Word of God. Without the Word, we cannot come to know Jesus, His life, His teaching, His way of thinking, His perspectives, His feelings and so on. And unless we have come to know Jesus personally, we will not be able to act and think like Him. It is also equally true that if the vision has not become a reality in our lives yet, it is perhaps because we have not been open to the prophets that God has sent to help us and guide us in our lives, especially in those critical and difficult moments. We are not open to God’s healing power and comforting love through the people that God sent to us. Instead, we remain blind and indifferent to their overtures, just as the Israelites in the Northern Kingdom did when Amos was sent to enlighten them.

Yes, this is our calling as Christians today. Today, the scripture readings remind us of our missionary calling. This command to proclaim the Good News in word, deed and in our very being is given to all by virtue of our baptism and confirmation. It is our duty to make Christ known. Of course, this duty comes about not as a burdensome obligation but an imperative that springs from our own experience and conviction of the Good News and His plan for us. It is this profound understanding and appreciation of the noble destiny of all humankind to be one with Christ in God that will spur us on in our mission of bringing people to Christ. In this way, we will be able to bring about the fulfillment of the plan of God for us all. And as we reclaim our lost inheritance which is our freedom and joy to be God’s adopted children of the same family, we bring the fulfillment of God’s plan in our lives when all things come together under Christ, as head, everything in the heavens and everything on earth.

And if we are still not responding to the mission, either due to a lack of vision or a lack of courage to surrender ourselves to God, preventing His power to work in our lives, then let the words of the famous philosopher and poet, Chesterton challenge us. He said, “If Christianity has been found wanting, it is not because it has been tried and found difficult; rather it is difficult and has never even been tried.”