Readings: Eph.2:19-22, Ps 19, Luke 6:12-19
Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia
As CITIZENS OF GOD’S HOUSEHOLD, HOW ARE WE FULFILLING THE MISSION OF CHRIST
Will you leave? We you care? Will you risk? Will you let the Lord lead you? These are questions of great demand which every true disciple must constantly reflect on in life, in order to be aware of the seriousness of the commitment required of each of us as a disciple of Jesus.
This great demand is presented to us in our liturgy today as we celebrate the feast day of two great apostles, St. Simon and St. Jud,e, and our readings propel us to reflect on our call to discipleship.
In the Gospel we heard how Jesus, after deep prayer, called from among his disciples twelve apostles, of whom Simon and Jude were part of the twelve. Simon also known as the Zealot, was a member of the Zealots, the extremists who fought for the freedom of the Israelites against the Romans at the time of Jesus. While St. Jude, often referred to as St. Jude Thaddeus, was a member of the extended family of Jesus.
These two apostles, along with others, followed the Lord faithfully throughout his ministry. Simon, though a member of the Zealots, abandoned his previous life as a freedom fighter to become a great missionary along with St. Jude Thaddeus, who was the probable author of the Epistle of St. Jude.
These two apostles together served the Lord and reached out to many people and evangelised many nations. That is why both of them are celebrated together today, because of their missionary zeal and commitment to God even to the very end of their lives.
Tradition has it that Simon spread the Gospel to places like Persia and Armenia, Egypt and Ethiopia, and along with Jude, they evangelised throughout Judea, Samaria, Persia, Armenia and other places. Sadly, after many decades of their missionary activities, these two great apostles were martyred in Lebanon.
They committed themselves wholeheartedly to the mission of Christ and his Church, and they converted many and established firm foundations of the Christian faith in many places. Little wonder St Paul in our first reading tells us that we are fellow citizens of God’s household that has the apostles and prophets for its foundations, and Christ Jesus himself for its main cornerstone.
Dear friends, evangelisation is the very nature and essence of the Church. And Jesus gives us the mandate and the commission to evangelise, that is, to announce the Good News to all the nations and to spread the Gospel to every creature. This commission is shared by all those who are baptised, both priests and lay faithful.
Everyone has a particular responsibility to share in the work of proclaiming the Gospel. Today, we should ask ourselves, how have we proclaimed the Gospel to the world? What efforts are we making to ensure that the mandate Christ entrusted to us is carried out effectively in our generation?
Therefore, at this moment when the world is confused, because we have removed God out of our daily lives, at this time when we have placed our hope in the activities of the human person who seems to have taken the place of God, at this time when our governments, scientists, doctors, lawyers, professors and even pastors assumed the place of God, which of course have brought about the ugly situation we are facing in our societies today.
We and reminded once again about our very mission, for it is time to take this mandate very seriously, because it is our responsibility to fulfil our promises to God and ensure that the Christian faith is preached and sustained in the world and by so doing save humanity once again from sin, death and destruction.
LET US PRAY: Lord God, we are lost in this world, we are confused because we have cut ourselves off from You our cornerstone, as we come back to you once again, please give us the grace to preach the Gospel following the examples of saints Simon and Jude, may we learn from their teaching and walk faithfully in the footsteps of Christ and by so doing draw humanity back to You once again. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. God bless you.
No comments:
Post a Comment