Wednesday in the Twenty-Fifth Week of Ordinary Time
“The apostles departed, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.” Imagine Jesus sending out missionaries today. What would they take? Well, first their car keys and airplane tickets, then enough money, a traveling bag with several changes of clothes, a cell phone and a laptop. But what if Jesus said: “Wait, you won’t need car keys because you’re going to walk. And forget the money, leave it behind, you’re going to beg for food and a place to stay. Keep your jogging shoes but don’t take any extra clothes. All you need is holy oil to anoint the sick. Sorry about the cell phone and laptop, those have to stay behind, too. Now go, preach repentance, heal the sick and cast out demons.” Who would do it?
To evaluate a missionary candidate, a vocation director tested him. He called the candidate at three a.m. in the morning and asked him to come to his office right away for a special interview. Then he kept him waiting. Finally, at eight o’clock, the vocation director said, “Let’s begin. Please spell the word love,” which he did. “Now, what day is Christmas on?” The candidate replied, “December 25th.” The director said, “Very good, you have passed my interview. I will recommend you to the board of admissions.“ Meeting with the board he said, “This person has all the qualifications of a good missionary. First, I tested his selflessness by asking him to come for a 3a.m. appointment. He left his warm bed to come out in the middle of the night without a word of complaint. Next, I tested his patience by making him wait five hours to see me. An ill-tempered person would have gone off in a rage. He didn’t. Then I tested his humility by asking questions any child could have answered. He wasn’t offended. I highly recommend him without any reservations because of his selflessness, his patience, and his humility.“.
One day the great Protestant pastor, Albert Schweitzer, who gave his life serving as a missionary in central Africa, was arriving by train in a European city. Dignitaries were waiting to welcome him. The first-class passengers got off the train. But Albert Schweitzer wasn’t among them. They waited while the second-class passengers disembarked. Still no sign of him. Finally, they saw him coming out of third-class carrying his own suitcase. A city official asked him, “Why are you traveling third-class?” He replied, “Because there’s no fourth-class.”
In one of the Peanuts comic strips, Linus is listening to Charlie Brown’s younger sister, Sally, as she boasts about her religious zeal and her potential to be a good missionary. She says, “I could be a terrific evangelist. Do you know that kid who sits behind me in school? I convinced him that my faith is better than his.” Linus asks, “How did you do that?” Sally replies, “I hit him with my lunch box.” That’s crazy, of course. But replace her lunch box with bombs, guns and knives to cut off heads, and we’re face to face with the way ISIS tries to force conversions today. There are more martyrs now than in any other century. Tertullian famously said, “The blood of martyrs is the seed of the Church.”
Can we be missionaries? St. Therese of the Child Jesus writes, “One day I was pondering over what I could do to save souls. … A phrase from the Gospel showed me…. ‘Pray the master of the harvest to send out laborers.’ Jesus has such a love for us that he wants us to share with him in the salvation of souls. He wants to do nothing without us. He waits for the prayer of little souls to save others … even a sigh from your heart!”1 Think of that! A little sigh coming straight from your heart can save souls.
This was a long homily. Let me close with a little humor: A young man who was a convert said to his pastor, “I couldn’t possibly be happier right now. For the first time in my life, a girl told me that she loves me.” He replied, “Aren’t mothers great!”
- Saint Therese of the Child Jesus, Letter 135.