Like Jesus Sent His Disciples -He Sends Us
Listen to and read Sunday’s Gospel (Luke 10:1–12, 17–20).
Jesus sends dozens of His disciples in pairs to prepare for Him.
He’s calling us to do the same in our daily lives.
Luke journaled this for us. Jesus said to the crowd of about 70 of his followers, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.”
Bishop Mark Brennan in his homilies and talks throughout the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston has illustrated that for us, noting of the state’s population of 1.8 million less than four percent are Catholic with 20 percent claiming no religious affiliation.
Let them learn to know and love Christ through you.
Bishop Mark Brennan has said, “The Lord is not content with us caring only for our own salvation; he wants us to be concerned about other’s salvation, too…. Out of love we should be willing to reach out to those who have never known Christ or known him only superficially, as well as to those Catholics who, for various reasons, have stopped practicing their faith…. Speak of Jesus Christ and why we follow him as members of his Church…. You know why you follow him. You do not need a theological degree to tell others your reasons. You are an expert on your life of faith.
“People will often give you opportunities to engage them in that conversation – moments of great joy, such as the birth of a child, a wedding or a new home; or moments of sadness and tragedy, such as the death of a loved one, the breakup of a marriage, the loss of a job or some other serious disappointment. These are openings to speak of how Christ has been your strength and joy when you have dealt with times both sad and happy.”
Take on the mindset that Bishop Mark is confident we can hold onto and take seriously – be Christ’s hands and feet; invite others to your parish events and Mass; be the light of Christ; and speak and share Christ’s love.
Let us put ourselves in Luke’s Gospel reading. God knows the challenges we will face, but has given us the gifts of the Spirit empowering us to be strong and courageous.
Christ said, “I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves.” If people welcome you, bid them peace. If you are not welcomed, then be a peace with your faith, confident, and not arrogant, as to “shake the dust from your feet and move on.”
Luke goes on to write the disciples “returned with joy, saying, ‘Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!’ He said to them, ‘I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing will hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this… rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
In closing this Sunday’s FaithInWV article we share verbatim from Bishop Mark’s 2024 Advent letter to all Catholics in the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston:
“My brothers and sisters in Christ, many of you have spoken to me about your sadness that family members and friends have walked away from the Church. Some of you lament that your parishes are aging with few young families and single persons in sight. I don’t think any of us wants our Church to shrink and disappear. Our Catholic Church is the original Christian Church and by far the most universal. Don’t’ we want it to embrace as many of those hundreds of thousands of West Virginians, who are troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd [Matthew 9:36], and assure them that they have a true Shepherd in Jesus Christ? Our Church – meaning all of us working together – must fulfill our mission and not settle for just hanging on, sad and listless.
“Our state may be losing population, but we can be growing as a Church. You all know Catholics who have walked away from us. You know some of those West Virginians with no religious affiliation. They are your relatives, friends, neighbors, fellow workers, people with whom you recreate. If your faith matters to you, do your part. Join with other Catholics around the state to reach out to those we have lost and those we never had. It is for their good and for ours as well. It may take years to see the full fruit of our efforts, but we must begin. This is the challenge the Lord gives us here and now.”Read or listen to the entire letter at: https://dwc.org/bringing-people-to-christ/
Editor’s note: The art with this article “Christ Sending the Seventy Disciples, Two by Two” is by James Jacques Joseph Tissot (circa 1884-96).
