Mission Possible: God Calls Everyone
During the Easter season I like to think about the beginning of the early Church and what happened right after Jesus rose from the dead. During Mass, we are hearing from the Acts of the Apostles and the disciples’ mission of proclaiming the Gospel. We share in this mission, too. I think we can consider Matthew 28: 19 as the mission statement of the Church: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.”
It is known as the “Great Commission,” and it is a universal call for the baptized to mission. In his encyclical letter, Mission of the Redeemer, St. John Paul II writes, “In the Church’s history, missionary drive has always been a sign of vitality,” (2). The letter invites all Christians to renew their missionary commitment. JPII reminds us that “faith is strengthened when it is given to others,” (2).
The early Church was small in numbers. Acts 1:15 tells us that there were about 120 believers. This brings us back to the story of Israel, who was also small in numbers:
“It was not because you are more numerous than all the peoples that the Lord set his heart on you and chose you; for you are really the smallest of all peoples. It was because the Lord loved you and because of his fidelity to the oath he had sworn to your ancestors,” (Deuteronomy 7:7-8).
As Pope Benedict XVI points out in one of his homilies, “God does not count in large numbers; exterior power is not this sign of his presence.” He goes on to say that we, “must surrender to the grain of mustard seed,” when spreading Christian joy which comes from knowing truth. Sometimes this task seems difficult!
In the book of Exodus, Moses initially refuses God’s call to liberate Israel from the Egyptians. He believes he is inadequate for the job. But God doesn’t choose people because of gifts and abilities; he calls each one of us to mission because of what is in our hearts. I once heard someone say that God gifts those he calls, not calls those who are gifted.
I think it is easy for people to believe otherwise because of the guile of the devil, so we must remain aware of this truth. Think of David, who was small, the youngest of many brothers; and he defeated Goliath. Peter, on whom was built the Church, was a fisherman!
Why is mission important? I think the greatest poverty of humankind is not knowing Christ and not knowing the unconditional love of the Creator. I also think that many people are lacking a personal encounter with Jesus; they may know who he is, but they don’t really know him. We can know a lot about a person, but still not really know them as a person. Think of famous people; we know facts about them but we don’t know who they are.
When we encounter Christ, we cannot help but witness to him and share our joy. And people recognize something different about Christian joy.
“It is not possible to bear witness to Christ without reflecting his image, which is made alive in us by grace and the power of the Spirit,” (Mission of the Redeemer, 87).
The best version of self is our version of imitating Christ.
Sin has disfigured our image. So, we must work to transfigure ourselves, with God’s grace, toward conformity to Christ. When we encounter Christ, we desire to be more like him. The concept of Sequela Christi (Latin for “following Christ”) is not just about acting like Jesus:
“The ‘sequela’ of Christ is not only the imitation of his virtues, it is not only living in this world, as far we are able, as Christ lived, in accordance with his words, but it is a journey that has a destination. And the destination is the right hand of the Father,” (homily of Pope Benedict XVI).
So, following Christ is really about relationship. As baptized Catholics, we are so blessed, and therefore have a responsibility to share our faith and to live as Christian witnesses.
“Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you,” (John 20:21).