Jesus
calls each of us to be a missionary disciple.
What does that mean?
Jesus
tells us what it is like to be a missionary disciple. “As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The
kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Cure the
sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons. Without cost you have received; without cost
you are to give…Whatever town or village you enter, look for a worthy person in
it, and stay there until you leave. As
you enter a house, wish it peace. If the
house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; if not, let your peace return to
you.” Matthew 10:7-8,11-13
“The
kingdom of heaven is at hand.” To me,
the kingdom of heaven is something that can be experienced here and now, “at
hand.” It is God’s love, joy, and peace
in our hearts. It is definitely
believing in God’s Love, Goodness, Kindness, and Mercy!
Jesus
says to, “Cure the sick.” Knowing that
you are loved by God will automatically put you on the road to healing. Believing in His Goodness, Kindness, and
Mercy for you, will give you hope to overcome your illnesses – spiritual,
mental, psychological, and physical.
Jesus said to the Samaritan woman, “whoever drinks the water I shall
give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of
water welling up to eternal life.” (John
4:14) Jesus is the source of living
water that brings healing to your heart and soul. When you invite Jesus to come into your
heart, and to be the Lord of your life, then He becomes a spring of living
water, running over, to cure you, and the sick around you. Jesus Himself gives all of us eternal life
when we believe in Him. “For God so
loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him
might not perish but might have eternal life.”
(John 3:16)
Jesus
calls us to, “raise the dead.” We are to
love and have mercy and compassion on those around us who are spiritually dead
in their sins. We are to raise up, and
lift up their hearts, in prayer, to our Lord.
We are to beg God to rain down His precious Blood and Living Water upon
their hearts, so that they will turn from their sinful ways, and live a new
life for God.
Jesus
tells us to, “cleanse lepers.” It is
easy to want to stay away from the people in our lives that we don’t like. It takes courage to pray for them, and even
more courage to reach out to them. Jesus
says, “The Advocate, the holy Spirit that the Father will send in my name – he
will teach you everything and remind you of all that [I] told you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to
you. Not as the world gives do I give it
to you. Do not let your hearts be
troubled or afraid.” (John
14:26-27) Ask the Holy Spirit to be with
you and guide you. Allow yourself to be
an instrument for God to use. Cleansing
a leper can be as simple as inviting someone to go with you to the Sacrament of
Reconciliation, where Jesus is present through the priest, to forgive and to
heal.
Jesus
exhorts us to, “drive out demons.” Any
thought that pulls you down, and does not reinforce and verify God’s love for
you, is not from God. Guard your heart
and soul. Always say, “yes,” to God’s
love in your heart and soul. Say, “no,”
to thoughts that cause you to harden your heart.
Saint Paul says, “What will separate us from
the love of Christ? Will anguish, or
distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the
sword?...No, in all these things we conquer overwhelmingly through him who
loved us. For I am convinced that
neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things,
nor future things, nor power, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature
will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our
Lord.” (Romans 8:35, 37-39) Saint Paul goes on to say, “Do not be
conquered by evil but conquer evil with good.”
(Romans 12:21) Driving out demons
can mean encouraging a person to trust in the Lord, instead of doubting; to
banish fears with the love of God; to replace anxiety with faith in God, etc…
Jesus
says, “As you enter a house, wish it peace…”
A “house” can also mean a person’s heart and soul. When you are with someone, you can wish them
the peace of our Lord. Saint Paul says,
“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom
you have from God, and that you are not your own?” (1 Corinthians 6:19) You are not only a house, but a temple! Even Jesus referred to His own Body as a
temple. He told the Jews, “Destroy this
temple and in three days I will raise it up…he was speaking about the temple of
his body.” (John 2:19-21)
Love
is calling you. Love is calling you to
be a missionary disciple. Do you hear
it? Believe in God’s Love for you!
My prayer is…
that the Lord’s Loving Will
be done in my life today
that I may love Jesus
with all of my heart
that I may love Jesus
with all of my soul
that I may love Jesus
with all of my mind
that I may love Jesus
with all of my strength
that I may see God’s love for me today
and share His Love with
others
Amen!
“You shall love the Lord your
God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all
your strength…you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Mark 12:30-31a
