Journeying with Jesus

Homily for Friday of the Twenty-Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

Even though the Gospel text for today seems to be only a matter of information regarding the traveling partners of Jesus, it is a rather remarkable text in and of itself. First of all, this is only mentioned by Saint Luke, the Gentile evangelist. Judaism during first century Palestine involved the strict prohibition of even speaking with women in public. This is obviously not the issue with Saint Luke, someone who has also been ignored by Jewish people.

The fact that the Twelve and of the Galilean women are making this journey with Jesus speaks of their involvement. These women will be witnesses of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Both Mary Magdalene and Joanna are specifically mentioned in the Gospels as witnesses of the resurrection as our clear purpose and his wife who meet Jesus on the way to Emmaus.

In traveling with Jesus, they not only were able to listen to his preaching, we are also told that they are sustaining his mission out of their own means. This kind of participation also sets them as examples for us of not only faithfulness to the mission but also a willingness to surrender what they have to continue providing for Jesus and his apostles.

The first reading from the First Letter to Timothy contains an admonition concerning people who have a morbid disposition for argument and verbal disputes. I would say that this is a description that actually fits our own situation as we listen to the myriad voices speaking about various issues that plague our social media. These past few weeks have been filled with the violence of war, episodes of gun violence, and deliberate attacks upon the police. St. Teresa of Calcutta is quoted as saying: “If there is no peace in this world, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to one another.” It would seem that we have, indeed, forgotten our connection to our brothers and sisters throughout the world.