THURSDAY 4TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR B
THEME: Have A Little Faith
BY: DEACON BILL FRERE
Gospel – Mark 6:7-13
Sepphoris, Central Galilee
I was thinking about my Sophomore Year at the University of Maryland and the day that I moved into my very first apartment. My parents and I had spent a lot of time cleaning and prepping the place. They dropped me off and then suddenly I realized – I’m now on my own! It’s all up to me – the cleaning, the laundry, shopping, cooking – it was now all up to me. That was, to say the least, scary! Now what do I do? I didn’t realize then but I do now – I wasn’t alone and it wasn’t all that scary. My parents had been preparing me for this since the day I was born, teaching me life skills. Of course at the time I didn’t realize it but all those “clean your room” and “set the table” and “do the dishes” and “help me make dinner” – all of them prepped me for this. And I realize they trusted that I had learned all those life lessons!
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Something similar is happening in today’s Gospel! Jesus is sending His disciples off to other towns, two by two, to preach, to teach and to heal. And what does He tell them to take with them? Nothing, literally nothing! No extra clothes, no food, no money, no sack! Just a walking stick! How scary is that?
And yet, when you think about it, they are carrying something with them, something vital and assuring. They are carrying His trust in them! Think about that for a minute. We reflect a lot on how much the disciples trusted Jesus, how deep their faith in Him was. And yet consider today His faith in them! He trusted that they learned their lessons well by listening to His teachings. He trusted that they would heal and teach and spread the Word!
And will there be times when they falter or even fail? Of course! But they could always return to Him for encouragement and support! And so it is for us! Jesus trusts in us; He trusts that we are learning His message and living a life of love and compassion. We think we are being sent out into the world completely on our own. But His love and faith sustains us. And when we fall, and we surely will from time to time, we can always return to Him and seek His comfort. His faith, His love for us will never falter! Trust in that and have a little faith!
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