Universal call to mission

Discipleship Approaches

It is interesting to note that the commissioning of the seventy-two is preceded by an episode appropriately titled in the New American Bible as ‘The Would-be Followers of Jesus’ (Lk 9:57-62). In this account we hear three voices in addition to the voice of Jesus. The first claims to be ready to fully follow Jesus. Jesus replies: “Foxes have their burrows and swallows their nests, but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head”, implying the rigor of discipleship. At the second voice, Jesus extends the invitation to follow him but asks her to wait until he has buried his father. Jesus instructs him about priorities. The third voice also like the first expresses readiness but shows hesitation. He first wants to consult his family.

These three voices reveal three types of disciples. The first type are those who are willing to face everything for the glory of God. The second are those whom the Lord calls but who leave it for another day. Third parties are those who find it difficult to decide for themselves. They are easily influenced by others and find it difficult to assert themselves. All of us fall into one of these categories. If we are in the first category, let us ask God to give us the grace to follow him wholeheartedly and to help us discern his will for us. If we are in the second or third category, let us first discern in prayer what exactly prevents us from committing ourselves to the Lord and offer these obstacles to Him asking Him to give us the strength to overcome them and become His. true followers.

Mission Assignment

After this, the Lord appointed seventy-two other disciples, and sent them two by two ahead of him to every city and place where he himself was to go. The Lord’s appointment of the seventy-two may seem like a sort of selection, which it is to some extent. He thought that those he thought were ready. The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few (v.2). This verse is often quoted to underscore the need for vocations to the priesthood or religious life, but it has meaning for all of us. The proclamation of the Kingdom of God is not the prerogative of priests, brothers or sisters. It is an integral part of our Christian identity. By virtue of our baptism, we are called to announce the Kingdom of God. So the call is universal but the way and capacity in which we carry it out is different. Some carry it out as priests, others as consecrated brothers or sisters, others as members of families and still others as single men or women. Saint Paul writes to the Ephesians about the diversity of calls within the Christian vocation: As for his gifts, to some he gave them to be apostles, to others prophets, or even evangelists, or pastors and teachers. So he prepared those who belong to him for the ministry, in order to build up the Body of Christ (4:11-12).

Be missionaries!

The word ‘mission’ is defined in the dictionary as ‘a task or job given to someone to do’. A missionary is therefore ‘he who is sent on mission’. We are used to hearing about missionaries as those people, generally priests and religious, who leave their land of origin and go to a distant place to proclaim the Word of God. This can cause us to adopt an attitude of great respect or reverence towards them and that is good, because they have made a difficult decision. But we must also remember that we, too, are called to be missionaries in whatever capacity we can. We may never leave our homes or families, but surely we can take Christ and his message wherever we go.

Jesus instructed the seventy-two (and he does the same with us) to take two messages to everyone they meet. The first message is “Peace” and the second is “the nearness of the Kingdom of God.” Peace is everyone’s wish. We may not be able to do great things for the establishment of peace, but if we can be peaceful people and carry the message of peace, we would be doing a lot, even if it seems little. The message of the proximity of the Kingdom is actually a call to review one’s own life. The Kingdom of God is going to be established very soon. ‘Are we living lives worthy of a place in that Kingdom?’ is a key question. “The harvest is great but the laborers are few” should not become a prophetic statement. Because of our commitment to the call to be missionaries, let us modify the statement to: The harvest is bountiful and so are the workers.