Word to the Wise
Saturday, October 7, 2006 - OUR LADY OF THE ROSARY
[Job 42:1-3, 5-6, 12-17 and Luke 10:17-24][D]o not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice because your names are written in heaven.
The gospel scripture today reports an excited group of disciples who return from their first "mission" trip. I am reminded of the excitement that I regularly witnessed in college students returning from Christmas or Spring Break "mission" trips to Central America or elsewhere. The experience of reaching out to others and helping others can be very heady and cause an emotional "high." All things seem possible through these efforts. Yet Jesus warns the disciples that their excitement may be misplaced. They should be glad that they have done something good for God and not that they have some special power that someone else doesn't have! Furthermore, the disciples will find, later on, that this "high" doesn't last long. There are trials and tribulations ahead. The test for the disciples and for those college students is whether or not they can sustain the effort in the long run. The continued existence of the church since its humble beginnings 2000 years ago is testimony to persistence and fidelity to the effort. For the students, the challenge exists to not let that one experience just be that one experience, or just another nice line on the resume. The call to discipleship might mean something as simple as reading at Eucharist or visiting the local jail or teaching catechism. It can be as complicated as traveling to the Far East and dialoguing with "engaged Buddhists!" Indeed the committed disciple will see some incredible things happen in ministry, but St. Paul reminds us that we carry the treasure in earthen vessels so as to make it plain that it is God's work and not ours. AMEN
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