ELEVENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME A

[cappie]

In the Gospel we are able to identify some key aspects of Christian discipleship. As Jesus travelled around Palestine, he was moved by the need for hope and healing among those who thronged to him, those Matthew calls, “harassed” and “helpless.”  In Hebrew and Aramaic, the two languages familiar to Jesus, the word for compassion was found in the term for ‘womb.’ This means compassion for Jesus (and his Jewish contemporaries) was not felt in one’s head but in one’s heart. It is with this concern that he called his disciples and sent them out to proclaim that God’s reign was near, to heal, restore, cleanse, and liberate those to whom they were sent. He also reminded them that they would face and endure hatred, betrayal, opposition, and arrest, and yet endure all this with the help of God.

What does this mission offered by Jesus mean for us today? To begin with, we are able to see that discipleship is a calling. Just as Jesus chose his twelve disciples in the gospel passage, Christ has called us and we follow him. It is only because God in Christ felt compassion  according to the Gospels  toward us that we have been called  as the Church, the Greek word for Church – “ecclesia” – is composed of the words “ek,” meaning “out,” and “kaleo,” meaning “called.” We can say that discipleship is an outcome of God reaching out to make us his own. As disciples, we only respond to his calling and continue the work of Christ, always with his help. The words of Jesus to his first disciples, “Follow me,” continues to echo in and through the Church throughout history.

However, the call to be a disciple is never about the disciples themselves. Christian discipleship is always about engaging with and living for others. The chosen disciples are sent out to proclaim the Good News of the kingdom and share God’s healing and liberation with others. This is why the Church, as the community of disciples, is also sent out into the world. A former Archbishop of Canterbury William Temple wisely noted, the Church always exists for its non-members. The Church, while it should certainly be a mutually comforting and loving fellowship of God’s children, cannot become self-centred or inward facing. The Church is a proclaiming community of disciples, in word and deed, to make a difference in the world. Discipleship and mission go hand in hand. Without mission, the Church loses its meaning and purpose of existence.   Disciples go out to make more disciples – not for the sake of increasing numbers in the pews – but because God’s compassion moves within us.

We may ask here: Is discipleship always a life of reaching out to others? Do we always have to keep proclaiming and sharing God’s gifts with others? Jesus gently reminds his disciples that they should also be willing to receive. They should be humble to receive help and support from others. Elsewhere, in Mark’s gospel, Jesus instructs his disciples to eat what is offered to them and stay where they are received. There is mutual care and compassion as disciples engage in mission.  

Connecting this with Christian discipleship, we may say that one cannot give without being open and humble to receive.  When we engage with others in mission, Christ encourages us to receive as well.   In other words, disciples are to be open to listening and learning from those to whom they are sent. Making disciples is not about patronizing. Rather, it is leading a life of humility, openness, receiving, and genuine dialogue.

Finally,  we can be proud of our calling as disciples, but we cannot forget that it is always a risk-taking business. Those who follow Jesus, because they strive for peace and justice, often find themselves in trouble with the powers of the world. Yet, we are never alone. The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, is with us and speaks through us.  

 No matter who we may face or what our circumstances might be, we know that the Holy Spirit works through us. After all, it is God who has called and sent us in the first place. May we, as the Church whose head is Christ Jesus, continue to be mindful that we have been called as his disciples by the grace of God. May we remember that we are sent, filled with compassion, to “go out and make disciples,” boldly proclaiming the Good News of God’s kingdom in a broken world.