Ezra knew that he and his people were completely undeserving of God’s mercy. And yet they received it. He brings these two things to light beautifully in today’s first reading. Hopefully, we can come to the same understanding. As Ezra says, “Our wicked deeds are heaped up above our heads…great has been our guilt.” And yet God continues to show us His mercy and love. Amazing!
In the Gospel reading from Luke 9, we see Jesus sending out the Twelve. He “gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them to proclaim the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick…Then they set out and went from village to village proclaiming the good news and curing diseases everywhere.” It is clear that Jesus gave His authority to the Twelve. We still see that authority today in the successors to the Apostles, our bishops and Pope. This is known as Apostolic succession, and it has carried on for 2000 years now. The Church carries out the same mission today that we see in this reading.
So, what does it mean to proclaim the good news? What is the good news? The good news is that God love us, and Jesus has come to save us from our sins. That He has overcome sin and death and given us the opportunity to live eternally in God’s love. Pope Francis has made lots of headlines recently saying that the Church needs to return to that core message. But this cannot be done in word alone. We must proclaim the good news with our words and with our actions – actions of love and mercy.
Father, you call all Christians to proclaim the good news. Show us this day how you wish for us to carry out that call, to carry the message of your love and grace to others. Amen.
Part of proclaiming the good news is teaching the faith. When you share A Minute in the Church, you’ll be helping to teach the faith to many souls. Find out more today at www.GusLloyd.com.
I heard a short homily on this gospel a few years ago….the question was why did Jesus tell the Apostles to take neither a walking stick, no food, no money or a second tunic? The response is forever etched in my mine……because with Jesus we have everything we need. Thanks for the beautiful insight today.