YEAR A: HOMILY FOR FRIDAY OF THE 28TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME (1)

YEAR A: HOMILY FOR FRIDAY OF THE 28TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

HOMILY THEME: PROCLAIM THE GOOD NEWS

BY: Fr. Benny Tuazon

HOMILY: (Lk. 10:1-9) Friday of the Twenty Eight Week in Ordinary Time.

In today’s Gospel, Feast of St. Luke, one of the apostles, Jesus sent His apostles to bring the Good News of salvation to everyone they will meet. They were given specific orders which will make them effective missionaries. They must go about their task with urgency and not to bring too much things which may hamper their mission. They are to rely on the support of people and not waste time to those who are not willing to listen.

The Gospel is specially chosen for the feast. We are reminded that all of us, by virtue of our baptism, are also apostles tasked to proclaim the Good News. Jesus started with twelve and they multiplied for every person converted. The task is now with us. We are part of the chain of apostles given the responsibility to teach and transmit the deposits of faith. The prime responsibility was given to the priests who were ordained for the purpose. But all of the baptized also share in that One Priesthood of Jesus.

Just like our country, the Philippines, which was a mission area before, we are now sending missionaries to other places. When we were baptized, we accepted and committed ourselves to the proclamation of the Good News.

Jesus assured us of His presence in the Spirit. Thus, we do not worry about what to say and do. If we have that apostolic spirit and commitment to help others be saved, God can work well with us.

Jesus stress on urgency should be noted. Not that He will not save those who had initially rejected Him but He wanted those who welcome Him be secured first. In time, those who rejected Him will be invited again. Hopefully, they will finally respond. The urgency was also the reason for His instructions not to bring a lot of things. Focus should not be on the apostles’ physical needs but on the mission. Furthermore, Jesus wanted His apostles to rely more on the power and inspiration of the Word of God than anything they brought.

Are we living our apostleship? Had we remained an object of the mission and just waiting to be saved? Or had we taken the task to help others be saved while ourselves being saved?