Weekend Reflections for 7/1/16

Jesus’ Ambassadors

“Into whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this household.’ If a peaceful person lives there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you.”

(Lk 10:6)

Jesus sends his disciples out to evangelize, to share with others his good news that “the Kingdom of God is at hand”.  It’s not a threat, not something to cause fear but rather a message of comfort, consolation and hope.  I imagine that the disciples were nervous, even anxious, about such a mission. What will they think of me, will they understand, will they respond? Jesus assures them that if they are willing to take those risks they will lose nothing: the peace they give will come back to them. That’s the way it is in the Gospel: the only way to get more is by giving away what you have.

Pope Francis and our Church leaders have been asking all of us to be evangelizers, to be ambassadors of the Good News that God is our loving Father and we are all his beloved children. Most of us are reluctant to wear our faith and our religion as a badge or a slogan on our shirt but we can all be witnesses to our Lord with our lives, the way we treat others and the strangers who intrude. St. Ignatius wrote that “love shows itself in deeds”. It is our actions and the way we choose to live that evangelize. When others see and recognize, they just might ask, Why? Then we tell them about the Kingdom of God.

Fr. Ralph Huse, S.J.