Jesus Sends the Apostles on Mission

Homily for Wednesday of the Twenty-Sixth Week in Ordinary TIme

Jesus’ time on earth was limited, and there was much to do before he returned to the Father. At some point the disciples would have to take over for him. Jesus was probably the only one who could have imagined that 2,000 years later the Church would still be hearing the story of Jesus commissioning the Twelve and giving them directions about how they were to behave on this mission.

In today’s Gospel text, we hear Jesus planting the seeds of the mission of the Church, giving the Twelve Apostles the spiritual authority to drive out demons, cure diseases, and proclaim the kingdom. Their mission as his witnesses would be fully theirs after He returns to the Father. The task that they were given was not small. People in every corner of the world would need to hear of and encounter Jesus as well as respond to His call.

The call to proclaim the Kingdom of God by our words and by our actions is addressed to each one of us. We are charged with carrying the message. We are to leave the success or failure of the mission to the Lord, but that does not mean we don’t do our best. It means that we learn as much as we can about what Jesus taught; then we teach with our actions, as well as our words; and we ask the Holy Spirit to help and direct us. We leave the outcome to the Lord, who desires the salvation of souls even more than we do.

Through our celebration of the Eucharist today, let us encounter Jesus ourselves and pledge ourselves to the continuing mission of the Church.