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2014-06-01
Daniel
Daring
(Comments welcome here)
Go tell it from
the mountain!
There is a group of
missionaries. There are nice guys. They enjoy good beer, good cheese, and a good
chat. You would love their company. When people come to ask for help, they
listen, give advice, bless them, and send them back home. They are lovely guys.
There is only one problem with them: do not ask them to go out to the world.
They love their comfort, their position, and their status. Instead of going and
making disciples of all the nations, they prefer all the nations to come to
them. They do not want to leave the ``Mountain of Ascension'', because on that
mountain they feel safe. The world down there is too dangerous, too noisy, and
too challenging. They have decided to remain on the ``Mountain'' and wait for
the Lord's coming.
The Great Commission
Today's Gospel passage is known as the Great Missionary Commission. It is the
last will of Jesus. It combines three equally important statements. The first is
Jesus' statement that he has all authority in heaven and on earth. The
second is the commission, ``go and make disciples''. The third is the promise of
Jesus' constant presence: ``I am with you always, even unto the end of the
world'' (Matt 28:20).
Jesus’ ministry was always a manifestation of God’s power. Jesus commanded
obedience and had authority. Those who obeyed Jesus included evil
spirits, sickness, sins, winds and seas. Jesus freed people from the bondage
evil, sickness and sins; Jesus freed people from the devil and the power of
death. The disciples took Jesus’ commission seriously and began to spread the
Good News in the Roman Empire. They were doing similar things: preaching the
kingdom of God, healing the sick, forgiving sins, and expelling demons. For
them, it was a privilege but at the same time a responsibility. “Woe to me, if I
do not preach the Gospel,” said Paul. They could do that because they
were experiencing Jesus' constant presence among them.
This Gospel passage has always played an important role in the missionary activity
of the Church. It has inspired many people to go to distant lands and islands,
to enter new cultures, to learn new languages, to experience privation,
loneliness, sickness, and even martyrdom. Thanks to their availability and
dedication, thanks to their efforts and sacrifices, the world today has 2.3
billion Christians.
Is Mission still Valid?
Since this activity is so vital in life of the Church, no wonder that evil
powers will do everything to thwart any further efforts of making the name of
Jesus known. Every now and then, there is a talk whether or not we still need
missionaries. In our pluralistic and post-modern world, Christian mission looks
old fashioned. All religions are proclaimed equal and each can find his/her own
way to God. Why mission then? Pope Francis has a powerful answer to all those
who doubt the validity of Christian mission in today's world:
``It is impossible to persevere in a fervent evangelization unless we are
convinced from personal experience that it is not the same thing to have known
Jesus as not to have known him, not the same thing to walk with him as to walk
blindly, not the same thing to hear his word as not to know it, and not the same
thing to contemplate him, to worship him, to find our peace in him, as not to.
It is not the same thing to try to build the world with his Gospel as to try to
do so by our own lights. We know well that with Jesus life is enriched and
that with him it is easier to find meaning in everything. This is why we
evangelize''. (EG 266)
Perhaps, that is the main reason responsible for our doubts. Mission does not
spring from the head, but from the heart. If our hearts are empty, our minds
will not work. Paul wrote that it was the ``love of Christ'' that compelled him
to go on a mission. The phrase means both the love that Christ had for Paul and
the love that Paul had for Jesus. A missionary is someone who shares his/her own
experience of meeting with the risen Jesus and how this experience transformed
his/her life. S/he cannot stay in comfort zone knowing that some many people
live without this love.
The Power of the Gospel
In our world, many people are afraid of spirits, many are afraid of human
authorities, and many are afraid of the future. There is a growing number of those
who believe in the power of money, and worship the god of mammon. We are called
to tell them the Good News about God’s love and power that liberates and
protects from all evil. We are called to tell them the Good News about God who
provides for all our needs. We are called to tell them about God who gives us
life in its fullness.
“Jesus is my savior. I live in an area where there are so many witches and
evil forces that people have had to sell their property and gone in search of
safer places. I believe that Jesus is a victorious Lord who conquered all evil
spiritual forces and brought them under control. I am confident that Jesus
protects me and watches over me so that no evil may come near me and my family.
I continue to live here because of Jesus’ power over us” (S. Nafula, 1988, an
African woman's testimony).
Paul summarizes the greatness of Christianity in this short prayer: “I pray
also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know
the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in
the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe” (Eph
1:18-19). The people of our world need to hear the Good News and we have that
privilege and responsibility to tell them.
Conclusion
The feast of the ascension of the Lord brings hope and challenge to all of us.
We are reminded that power and authority in this world belong to Jesus
Christ. The Lord gives us assurance about his constant presence and the power of
the Spirit. At the same time he calls us to go to the ends of the earth and
preach the Good News. We have to go down from the mountain in Galilee and enter
the streets of our cities and towns, because we have work to do. The world
awaits the news about God who liberates, protects, provides and saves. Someone
said: “the bird does not sing, because it has an answer; it sings
because it has a
song.” We have a song - the most powerful life changing song ever. So let us
sing that song always, while waiting for the coming of the Lord!