This gospel passage is very clear: the
Apostles are to go, first and foremost of all, after the lost sheep of the
house of Israel – the pagans and the Samaritans would not be ignored, but they
would come later. The reason for this is that God is a “family man” – and to
him family will always come first. And at this point, the family consisted of
the house of Israel.
I
think we ought not forget in our own day that – while evangelization is
important – bringing the Light of Faith, the Light of the Gospel to a rapidly
“repaganizing world” – what is more important is the re-evangelizing, the
re-igniting with the Light of Faith, the rekindling of the Gospel Message in
the hearts of those who already belong to the new family of God: members of
Christ’s Mystical Body, the Church. Unless
we recharge our own decaying batteries, then we will have nothing to give
anyone, and no Gospel to share.
How we
do this recharging is to devote ourselves to the service of the breaking of the
bread and to the prayers, and to putting out faith in God and his promises into
action by subsequent loving care and concern for all we meet – united as we are
in mind and heart, joy and peace!
In the
first reading we see how sometimes a family reconciliation must take place –
like Joseph and his brothers – so that God’s plan can be carried forward; may
we be willing to be reconciled with members of the family of God, first, that
we need reconciling with, then all others. It is only then, that the peace of
Christ can fill our hearts and true justice can be administered to all who need
it.
Yes, the very Kingdom of God is at hand: may we repent and believe in the Gospel, and actually give evidence of
this belief in our words and deeds!
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