Messengers of Kingdom of God

July 3^rd,  ‘16   Sunday homily- Fr.Francis Chirackal CMI

Is.66:10-14c; Gal.10:14-18; Lk.10:1-12, 17-20

For Readings

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Everyone knows that the best form of advertising ever invented and the one that is still most successful is word-of-mouth, people telling other people. The Packard Motor Car Company was founded in 1899 in Warren, Ohio by James Ward Packer. James Ward Packer built the first Packard car with his brother in their electric bell and lamp factory. The first advertisement to use the slogan, “Ask the man who owns one,” came from Packard in October of 1901. By the time this ad came out, Packard already had a prestigious owner on its side in New York millionaire William D. Rockefeller. "Ask the man who owns one" became the Packard slogan. Our Lord Jesus Christ is also known through word-of-mouth advertising. In today’s gospel, Jesus sends in advance 70 selected ones in pairs to spread the Good News of the Arrival of the Kingdom of God to the cities he wanted to preach in.

In the first reading from the book of Isaiah, we see the Prophet encouraging and inspiring the Israelites who just returned from exile and got depressed seeing their ruined city of Jerusalem. He tells them to rejoice and celebrate as they are going to have a prosperous and peaceful future in beautiful Jerusalem. St.Paul, in the second reading, prays for peace and God’s mercy for all. In the gospel, Jesus selects seventy disciples besides his twelve Apostles, to spread the message of the arrival of the Kingdom of God. They were equipped with necessary gifts of the Holy Spirit to prepare the ground work for the message of the Kingdom of God. Here the numbers also have  certain significance in relation to the Old Testament. The number of the Apostles was restricted to twelve. In the Old Testament, there were twelve Tribes and its elders. Moses, also selected seventy elders to be his helpers in governing the people.

Jesus sent 70 selected ones who were with Him and had experienced the Kingdom of God in their personal lives to convey the message of the Kingdom of God. Jesus sent them as bare-foot messengers who were able to share their Kingdom-experience, which was different from what they were expecting earlier. Once they experienced the Kingdom of God, they were ready to become its messengers on need. His message was simple, its conveying method was still easy, as they were equipped with the power of the Holy Spirit, to speak and to prove it with signs of the Kingdom of God. All of them came back after fulfilling their role with great joy. When they came back they had stories of only success, as they went out on mission fully trusting God.

Trust in God was one of the basic requirements for His messengers. So Jesus instructed them not to depend upon material goods and earthly security, but in the providence of God. Jesus saw the possible risks, and told them to be cautious as He himself was facing continuous oppositions during his preaching and healing mission. Opposition to his message continued throughout history and even today in different parts of the world we see the same phenomena in one way or the other. For Jesus his messengers should convey peace to all whom they meet. It is the peace in all dimensions i.e. peace with oneself, peace with fellow beings and peace with God. It is this peace that Jesus offers us and instructs us to carry into the world around us today.

God works in this world in an amazing way, making weaker and stronger ones the instruments of His work. Rise of the weakest ones to the great heights and fall of the strong self-elevated ones to the bottom are the examples of God’s ways of work in this world. Everything that is the Word of God and in God’s plan will remain powerful and fruitful with peace. Since the Almighty God took the form of a weak human being to save man, He prefers the collaboration of the same human beings to continue that saving action on earth till the end.

He wants to send all those who received his Word and experienced His Peace, to share it with others. Today, the Church also celebrates the feast of St.Thomas the Apostle. He took courage to go to India, covering long distance, proclaimed the gospel and accepted martyrdom for Christ in India. God selects some people whom He wants in a special way, while all are called through our baptism for His mission. The testimony of the one’s who have experienced the Word of God, is the most authentic and powerful means to convey the message as the Packard ad says. May be it is in our own families, neighborhoods, work places or wherever we are with different responsibilities and roles, Jesus wants us to be His messengers of the Kingdom of God. At the same time Jesus sends his messengers in different forms to help us experience His peace. It is we, who are supposed to create an atmosphere in our heart, to retain that peace in our life. The peace He sends to our life, may not be always the same, as the one we want to experience, but the way God sees it good for our salvation, according to His plan. Our success depends upon our co-operation to God’s plan.

 Let us rejoice that God gives us a share in His mission in this world, and his Salvific plan for human race. Let us fulfill our roles as we are sent in our living situations to convey the message of Peace, and keep our hearts open to the peace of Christ, experiencing His peace and Joy in our lives. Let us help our fellow beings to experience god's mercy in their daily lives through our words and actions, as we interact with them. Let us be the messengers of God's peace and love and rejoice in His word and Spirit.  God bless you.