Word to the Wise
Sunday, July 11, 2021 - 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time - B
[Amos 7:12-15; Eph 1:3-14 or 1:3-10; Mark 6:7-13]Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over unclean spirits. He instructed them to take moting for the journey but a walking stick - no food, no sack, no money in their belts. They were, however, to wear sandals but not a second tunic. [Mark]
In the early 1990's, with many years of campus ministry under my belt (and more to come), I became aware of a desire to fulfill one of the fundamental ministries of the Dominican Order (the Order of Preachers), i.e. itinerant preaching. I didn't begin with a flourish or ad campaign. It was more by accident (the Holy Spirit has a way of making things look like that). I was in a leadership position in our Southern Dominican Province, which meant I was living in New Orleans at headquarters. A phone call came in from a parish in League City, TX, from a Dominican sister looking for a Dominican to come and preach a parish mission. I thought to myself, "I've never done one, but there's always a first time!" It went well. A second phone call from my boss, the provincial, offered me a retreat for priests. I had the same reaction - "Never done one before, but there's always a first time." These two events launched me on a "career" - first in part time (1990-2009] and then full time 2009-2019 - of on-the-road itinerant preaching of parish missions and retreats all over the USA, with side trips to Canada and Trinidad in the bargain. I still do this very occasionally now. My call to this kind of preaching (the first ministry of the Order, along with university presence) was not as personal as Jesus' call to the Twelve, or dramatic, as St. Paul's on the road to Damascus. And, (SIGH!) I can't say I traveled as lightly as Jesus asked those first preachers to do. Nor was I able to know what the long term impact of my preaching would be. I simply had to do it and leave the rest to the Holy Spirit. My itinerant preaching now takes place through this computer!
That's my story. What is yours? We, the baptized Body of Christ, are all called to be "itinerant preachers" as we move about in this highly mobile world. Jesus points out something that St. Dominic realized when he founded our Order: lifestyle preaches before we open our mouths! Does our lifestyle preach the gospel? The integrity of our faith is a powerful instrument over the "demons" we encounter in a secular world. Our compassionate presence can heal many wounds and ills. I know many students who give even years of their lives to have the experience of "itinerant preachers." But we don't have to go far to do this. We can go miles or we can go to the next room. We don't have to scold to preach repentance. We just need to show what God's love has to offer. AMEN.