THURSDAY: HOMILY IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR B
THEME: CARRY NO BAGGAGE.
BY: FR. KARABARI PAUL
‘He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts.’
We all have things in our lives that we hold onto. Things that slow us down and, sometimes, prevent us from moving forward at all. Whether it’s fear, insecurity, perfectionism, past hurts, or something else, if we never let them go, then we can’t serve God well. The baggage can even become something we use to justify why we can’t do what God’s calling us to do.
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In the Gospel of today (Mark 6:7-13), while sending the twelve out in pairs (mutual support and collaboration), Jesus charged them never to carry baggage. The bible says, ‘Let us strip off every weight that slows us down’ (Heb 12:1). When Saul was to be proclaimed as king, the people couldn’t find him. ‘So they inquired again of the Lord, “Is there a man still to come?” and the Lord said, “Behold, he has hidden himself among the baggage”’ (1 Samuel 10:22). We can hide ourselves among our baggage, too.
We may become so focused on the things we carry that we forget the mission and its essence. God makes provision for every mission he assigns to us. The tendency to rely on the treasures in the bag and regret the eternal provider and sustainer must be prevented.
Service to God requires a sense of urgency. And if we are dragging around all our baggage, it may slow us down. So how can we get rid of the baggage we are holding onto? Well sometimes it might mean that we need to spend some time handing things over to God, other times we might need to work through the process of forgiveness and sometimes we need other people to help us out. When Saul was hiding, it took other people to bring him out from behind the baggage. And when they had, ‘he took his place before everyone, standing tall—head and shoulders above them’ (1 Samuel 10:23). When we leave our baggage behind, we can step into all that God has for us, remain focused, and we are able to ‘run with endurance the race God has set before us.’ GOD IS STILL ON THE THRONE. It is my humble prayer this month that God’s faithfulness, grace, and protection may never fail us and our household through Christ Our Lord Amen. You remain in my thoughts and prayers. Good morning.
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