14th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C
The reading from Isaiah is a hymn to Jerusalem. The prophet Isaiah, speaking after the exile into Babylon, reassures the people that Jerusalem will again be their “comfort.” God in his infinite goodness will offer us peace: “Now towards her I send overflowing peace like a river.” When we allow this peace to flow into our hearts and guide our lives, we become fulfilled, satisfied, and our families, communities and the entire world become a wonderful place. Therefore, God calls us to be ambassadors, instruments and agents of this peace. It must flow and through us to others.
In the second reading, Paul prays, “peace and mercy to all who follow this rule, who form the Israel of God. This means that peace comes to our hearts, homes, communities, societies when we work in harmony with the will of God. It comes to all who bear the marks of Christ as Paul did. Crucifying our interest in Christ. So, we must make room for peace so that our joy may be complete in Jesus Christ. The gospel acclamation is a prayer from Paul: “May the peace of Christ reign in your hearts.” The absence of peace in any heart, family and communities leaves it devastated. Peace advances our communities.
In the gospel, Jesus sent out 72 disciples along the road to Jerusalem, to all the places Jesus intends to visit. They are given a message to proclaim, and they are to proclaim it whether the communities they enter are receptive to them or not: “The kingdom of God is at hand.” There is an urgency to their task and because of this Jesus tells them not to be encumbered by material things. They are to bring “no money bag, no sack, no sandals” and even more than that they are to “greet no one along the way.” Nothing must dissuade them from this mission, the mission of announcing the kingdom of God. Jesus equips us with the message we must bring to our world today:” Peace to this house.” It is a gift we must offer to the world and our communities. Jesus knows very well that this is what our world needs most, and he is ever ready to let us have it. With the peace that Christ offers us, we must be prepared to transform our world from a culture of war and hared to a culture of peace. He invites us to be instruments of his peace. What we must bring to the world is the good news of the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
If we are to be effective messengers of peace, three things are necessary:
- We must have peace ourselves
- We must be willing to share that peace with others
- The other person must be willing to receive it from us.
The great danger is that we allow people to take our peace away. This happens whenever we become angry, hostile, bitter, or revengeful when others do not respond favourably to us.
Like St Francis of Assisi, let us pray: “lord make me an instrument of your peace, where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy.”
Fr. Alex Osei
SSC-USA Spiritual Director