Word to the Wise
Wednesday, September 22, 2021 - 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. He said to them, "Take nothing for the journey, neither walking stick, nor sack, nor food, nor money, and let no one take a second tunic.....[Luke]
The Gospel According to Luke and his Acts of the Apostles are broadly arranged around the idea of the gospel spreading from Galilee to Jerusalem and then to all the known world outside Jerusalem, ending with Paul's imprisonment (and subsequent martyrdom) in Rome, the center of the empire. The process of moving beyond Galilee begins with commissioning the Twelve to do the same ministry that Jesus has been doing. At the beginning of chapter 10, we will see Jesus resolutely setting his face toward Jerusalem and his fate. This is predicted three times in chapter 9, including the scene of the Transfiguration.
By the time Luke composed his narratives, the Church had already begun to spread in the Mediterranean area, thanks to the efforts of Paul and other preachers. He wrote to encourage them in their efforts despite persecution. From those small and humble efforts has come the worldwide faith in Jesus! But the task is not done and will continue until the return of the Lord at the end of time. As Pope Francis has exhorted us in his initial encyclical, Evanglii gaudium [The Joy of the Gospel], we are all summoned by virtue of our baptism to become "missionary disciples." We don't just sit and listen and marvel. We are called to share the Good News, each in his or her own way and place. The charge to the Twelve is the charge to the millions. AMEN