Word to the Wise
Wednesday, September 25, 2019 - Wednesday in the 25th Week in Ordinary Time
[Ezra 9:5-9 and Luke 9:1-6]Jesus summoned the Twelve and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them to proclaim the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick. [Luke]
From tiny seeds, large plants grow. Jesus' ministry began in Galilee, which would have been considered a very rural area. His initial reputation was built there. As he attracted more attention, he selected some of his disciples, the Twelve, and delegated some of the mission to them. Later on he will select "a further seventy-two as he moved out of the area of Galilee and headed toward Jerusalem. The general scheme of the evangelist Luke is to show how Jesus' ministry began very small and began to spread. Once Jesus' reached Jerusalem and his rendezvous with the cross and resurrection, the Kingdom of God began to spread around the known Mediterranean world, which the Acts of the Apostles, also by Luke, would demonstrate. It ends in Rome, the center of the Roman empire. The Catholic church now has more than a billion members. The Twelve and subsequent "seventy-two" would be astounded! All of this happened despite determined persecution on many levels.
The images of the mustard seed and yeast {Luke 13:19, 21] will be used by Jesus to describe the process of establishing the Kingdom of God. Some of us will accomplish this by simple acts of kindness that have an impact far beyond what we intended. Others of us will preach and evangelize. If we want the Kingdom of God to spread, we have to do our part. The English statesman, Edmund Burke, once wrote, "No greater mistake was made by one who did nothing because he could only do a little." But each of us will have to start in his or her own Galilee! AMEN