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 nothing for the journey but a walking stick— no food, no sack, no money in their belts.
In today's gospel the Apostle of Truth sends his Twelve Apostles to announce his coming and his abiding presence. Like God his Father who never abandoned the descendants of Abraham and Sarah, Jesus will not abandon his Church. Nor will he lose the body Mary has given him. He can no more be separated from his body than you from yours. Nor will he quit the world he loves so dearly; although it would, if it could, be quit of him. This Heavenly man is an Earthling forever.
His apostles on their initial mission will not preach; rather, with their new authority, they will drive out unclean spirits. These unclean spirits have rendered the world unholy, unhappy, fractious, diseased, and hateful. Although we were created to know, love, and serve God, the unclean spirits which sometimes possess us do not welcome God, much less serve him. The apostles set out to restore the holiness of Israel.
But, as I hear all three of today's readings, I am more fascinated by Saint Paul's opening of his Letter to the Ephesians. Paul never read the Baltimore Catechism and could not recite
Q. How many Persons are there in God?A. In God there are three divine Persons-the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.
But the Apostle knew "the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens..." And he knew "the promised holy Spirit, which is the first installment of our inheritance..."
He could say nothing about words like three, persons, and Trinity, or the divine status of each person because the Church had not yet developed a sophisticated theology, much less a catechism of our religious beliefs. Paul knew the Lord in the joy of healing, singing, preaching, storytelling, and the Breaking of Bread. He lived for the Father and the Son; and for the Spirit which bonded the Father, the Son, himself and his Church into a passionate embrace of self-sacrificing love.
As an apostle he had left his home in Tarsus, his headquarters in Antioch, and his heart in Jerusalem to invite the entire world into the Love that filled his heart.
The world was full of bizarre answers to the human dilemma but no one had a clue that God might be one of us. They could not suppose that he would call each of us -- one by one -- into communion, and into a singularity of faith.
We knew only our separation and our desperation; we believed we must struggle to survive, and the struggle was often savage and hateful. No one supposed that God would struggle for us as a shepherd protects his sheep; we did not know that we must never hurt one another for that only frustrates the Shepherd's purposes.
Our belief in three persons in one God is still strange to the world's thinking. Although many believe there is a God, they imagine him as all powerful, all controlling, all demanding, and infinitely remote. He resembles the authorities they know in this world; immature fathers, domineering mothers, irrational politicians, greedy captains of industry, self-described experts, bullies and con artists. These so-called rulers govern arbitrarily. They are driven by fear and guided by greed; always with an eye to maintaining power.
They might ask, "What's the point of having power if you can't profit by it?"
They cannot imagine a God who surrenders his authority to his Son, nor his Incarnate Son who surrenders his life to his Father.
Our doctrine of a Triune God upsets the world's schemes. They do not want to know him. And so we are sent to announce this good news more by healing the sick, feeding the hungry, housing the homeless, instructing the ignorant, visiting the imprisoned, and burying the dead. Our very presence will drive out demons. And when they ask why we do these things, we'll tell them the Good News of Jesus, the Son of God.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.