With a Mission

The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Repent!

7 As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ 8 [a]Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons. Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give. 9 Do not take gold or silver or copper for your belts; 10 no sack for the journey, or a second tunic, or sandals, or walking stick. The laborer deserves his keep. 11 Whatever town or village you enter, look for a worthy person in it, and stay there until you leave. 12 As you enter a house, wish it peace. 13 If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; if not, let your peace return to you.[b] 14 [c]Whoever will not receive you or listen to your words—go outside that house or town and shake the dust from your feet. 15 Amen, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.-Matthew10:7-15

The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Repent! Let's mend our ways. It is not such a difficult thing to do when one is open to change. But if one resists, there the problem enters. So many despise religious men and women for doing their jobs. So many blame the missionaries for the spread of HIV-AIDS in Africa because the latter is teaching against the use of condoms. The scientific and medical communities hail themselves as the real helpers in solving the problem by providing condoms and other ways to stop the virus. Really? Just really? But I say, let's not just focus on HIV-AIDS but the deeper root of the problem - lack of self-control and lack of discipline. If one chooses to say No to premarital sex or fornication, then s/he preserves herself/himself. You don't worry about sexually transmitted disease, or malicious videos. You respect your very self as a holy temple. The Church is never against having a happy life. But how do you define happiness?

Image courtesy: God's Not Dead

The Actors and Actresses

Jesus and the Twelve.

1 [a]Then he summoned his twelve disciples[b] and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out and to cure every disease and every illness. 2 The names of the twelve apostles[c] are these: first, Simon called Peter, and his brother Andrew; James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John; 3 Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus; 4 Simon the Cananean, and Judas Iscariot who betrayed him.
5 Jesus sent out these twelve[d] after instructing them thus, “Do not go into pagan territory or enter a Samaritan town. 6 Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’-Matthew10:1-7

Nowadays, when people demand for freedom of speech and expression, it is easy to judge, accept or reject a person based on what we know about him/her. But Jesus is different. Though God-made-Man, Jesus does not and will never judge people based on looking at certain circumstances only. Perhaps He already knew the past, present and future of His disciples, yet, He did not impede or went against the Father's will. Perhaps He has His own separate preferences, yet, He called those predestined from the beginning by the Father. What is predestined is destined to happen. The 'actors,' 'actresses,' and the 'stage' are all in and must play their role. Some have good roles, others do not like Judas Iscariot. But the play continues and actually evolves, and God - the Director - gives all of us many many chances to be better, to embrace our Resurrection and to exercise our free will according to His plan and will. No one is too old or too young. We are all called to a holy life. We are all called to reach out to the lost sheep. We are all called to help one another. We are all called to be charitable to one another. We are all called to be like Jesus Christ Himself to others - Ipse Christus. We are all called to praise and worship the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Image courtesy: artist

Mission and Purpose

Our mission and purpose may lie somewhere.

12 One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. 13 When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles: 14 Simon (whom he named Peter), his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, 15 Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the Zealot, 16 Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.-Luke6:12-16

As I read and reflected, a part of me wondered what kind of men (and women) the other disciples - who were not chosen - are like. We know the composition of the 12 - fishermen, tax collector, zealot, a traitor and others. But what about the other disciples?

Why are they not chosen? Are there lettered men (and women)? Are there synagogue officials? Is there a Pharisee that secretly followed Jesus? One thing is certain, Jesus spent the night in deep prayer before making an important decision. As I reflected, grace has been given to me to realize that the 12 apostles were predestined long before they were born to be in Jesus' intimate circle of believers. It does not mean that the other followers and disciples were bad that's why they were not chosen. It is most likely that their capabilities, skills, talents and gifts are much utilized if they are not in the inner circle. It's like they glorify and help in Jesus' ministry more if they are not in the inner circle. Notice that for every town, there are always persons who are more religious than the rest. For every religious persons, there will always be those who are set apart to be a priest, religious brother or sister. For every priest, there will always be those who are still set apart to be bishops. For every bishops, there will always be those who are still set apart to be a cardinal.

And for every cardinal, there will always be one who will be a pope later on. Yes, we all have a mission. We all have a purpose. And it lies somewhere in our hearts waiting to be known. The Gospel reading is not just about the 12 who were chosen and not just about praying before making an important decision, but also Jesus' way of reminding us of our mission and purpose alongside with Him.

Image courtesy: Huffington Post, various artists