Pastor’s Notes

There is an old story about the Ascension of Jesus into Heaven told by S.D. Gordon. When the grand welcome ceremony was over, the Archangel Gabriel approached Jesus with a serious face and a question. He said, “Only very few in Palestine are aware of the great work of human salvation you have accomplished through your suffering, death and Resurrection.  But the whole world should know and appreciate it and become your disciples, acknowledging you as their Lord and Savior.  What is your plan of action?”  Jesus answered, “I have told all my Apostles to tell other people about me and preach my message through their lives. That’s all.” “Suppose they don’t do that,” Gabriel responded. “What’s your Plan B?” Jesus replied, “I have no other plan; I am counting on them.” On this World Mission Sunday, the Church reminds us that Jesus entrusted us to make him known and give birth to the reign of God.

The Church doesn’t necessarily have a mission. It is the other way around. The mission has a Church. This will take some prayer and some trust.  Over one billion Catholics all over the world observe this weekend as the 89^th World Mission Sunday. This annual observance was instituted 89 years ago in 1926 by a Papal decree issued by Pope Pius XI. The confidence of the Lord Jesus in the completion of the mission of his hand chosen is the fiery Holy Spirit. The widow in St. Luke’s Gospel for this weekend is a great picture of human persistence, when the going gets tough and one is tempted to lose heart. She does not give up with her call to the nasty, heartless old judge for justice.

Fr. William Bausch, in his 2012 book Hungry, And You Fed Me, suggests another possible way to understand this story of the widow. “Why not see the widow as the image of God?” If the widow is now pictured as the God-like figure, it becomes possible to arrive at a whole new meaning for this parable.   God takes on the role of a Rosa Parks, a person who endured until justice was achieved. She would not take her seat in the back of the bus. Neither will God.   And God keeps asking us for justice. His voice will not be silenced until the kingdom appears among us in its fullness. The original meaning of the Gospel passage is still maintained, “Pray always.” Prayer is hungering with God for the days when justice finally comes to the earth and its people. It fires a constant ache to seek justice wherever it is being denied.

Prayer keeps us yelling that all God’s children have a right to birth, then adequate education and health care. It insists that our prisoners are treated with respect, that our soldiers are given appropriate health care, that our elderly are able to afford an adequate pension, that our planet is respected as a God-given gift.  That is quite a Mission! Quite a trust!

A gentle week,
Fr. Michael Weldon, OFM

Thanks to Fr. Tony Kadavil of St. John Baptist Church in Grand Bay, Alabama and Celebration’s Ted Wolgamot for parts of the above reflection.