Weekly Homily for 7/16/06: Living with a Sense of Mission

15th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle B
Our Lady of Grace
July 16, 2006

Living with a Sense of Mission
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato


Mission

If we search the Internet or check a bookstore for books on business, we find the word “mission” or “purpose” in many of the titles.

And even beyond the world of business, not-for-profit organizations also need a mission statement. This is true of the American Red Cross or even of Our Lady of Grace.

The popularity of the best-selling book The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren is about the same thing. The idea here is that we as individuals also need to live with a sense of mission or purpose.

One writer describes what a mission or purpose means this way. He says, “Mission starts with (1) Determining what you really care about and want to accomplish and (2) Committing yourself to it.”

Jesus and Mission

In today’s Scripture readings, we hear about mission or purpose.

Jesus sends the apostles forth with a mission or purpose in the world. Implicit in his sending of the Twelve is his giving a mission or purpose to each one of us.

It is very important to look at our lives this way. It is something like wearing corrective eyeglasses or shaded sunglasses and looking at everything through these lenses.

We need to look at our lives – from beginning to end – through the lens of the mission or purpose that Jesus gives us. I see two dimensions to this mission in the Word of God today.


Our Mission: Self

The first dimension deals directly with self – ourselves.

In the second reading St. Paul says: “God chose us in Christ to be holy.” Our mission then, is to become holy or more whole persons.

We are to see ourselves as chosen and beloved by God through baptism. And then, we are to grow in God’s image and likeness as we see that in Jesus.

So, we are to become centered on God and trusting in the Almighty One. We are to allow ourselves step by step to be drawn into the light of God as opposed to the darkness that we sometimes see around us.

We are to allow ourselves step by step to be drawn into the love of God as opposed to the indifference we sometimes experience. To help us to do this, we keep opening ourselves to God and live an inner life with God.

We draw especially on the strength of the Sacrament of the Eucharist for this. This “self” part of our mission is lifelong.

It is never finished. It concludes only when we meet God face to face.


Our Mission: Others

The second half of our mission, as you might imagine, deals with others. Jesus sends the Apostles forth to drive out demons to heal those in need of healing.

For us, the driving out of demons may be resisting the evils of consumerism or wastefulness of gasoline, electricity or water.

Or it may be doing my part to end a cycle of hostility between a relative and myself.

The healing or making whole of others may be the steady, gentile guiding of our children in their spiritual, moral, and social development.

Or it may be listening to someone who is hurting because of the death of a spouse or a painful divorce.

And while this mission to others begins with our immediate family and friends, it then extends to our local community, our State, our Country and to all God’s children in the world.

And this “other” dimension of our mission is also life-long. It is never finished.

It, like our mission to ourselves, ends only when we meet God face to face.


Conclusion

William James once said, “The best use of life is to spend it for something that outlasts it.”

The truth is, only the Kingdom of God is going to last. Everything else will eventually vanish. That is why it is important to live our lives with an eternal sense of mission.

What greater mission could we have than the one Jesus offers us today: that of (1) Developing our personal union with him and (2) In his name bringing others to him as well?

Jesus gives us a mission that is fairly easy to understand and definitely exciting to pursue.

We need to look at our lives, from beginning to end, through this lens of mission. It could make an eternal difference!