The mission Jesus gave them (His twelve disciples) has been handed on to us today. We are all called to proclaim the Good News of redemption and to invite others to embrace it and join the company of disciples of Jesus.
In our own time, every Pope from Paul VI to Francis has called us to become evangelizers, to reach out to those who are not yet disciples and invite them to join us. How are we doing with this mission?
I suspect most of us have hesitations about embracing that call. As Jesus tells the Twelve, we will not always be welcomed. Our efforts may fail. People may not respond as we would hope. But we never know when a word or invitation we extend may be a seed that bears fruit later.
- Fr. Lawrence E. Mick
What strikes me is the statement: "we never know when a word or invitation we extend may be a seed that bears fruit later".
Many of us walk through life with blinders on. We are concerned with what is directly in front of us, that which we can see, what we can immediately impact and predominately impact for our own benefit. We give, at best, only secondary consideration to who and how our actions may touch those we know, and even less thought to those we do not know. I find myself to be guilty of this shortsightedness frequently. It is hard, and perhaps even contrary to nature, to look past our own self-interest.
In August of 2023 I read an incredible book written by Sara Brunsvold, The Extraordinary Deaths of Mrs. Kip. This is a story of a young reporter looking to make her mark and reach past what is assigned to her. Given the task of writing an obituary for a woman living the remainder of her life in hospice care, what she finds is a woman who from appearances led a humble and ordinary life. But without knowing she touched and enriched the lives of many. Her simple and unassuming life was in fact a life of extraordinary impact, a life of evangelization through example, bearing fruit unknown to her.
I have read, shared and will not soon forget this book. It reminds me that our call to evangelization may not be a call to great and overt acts. Sometimes the best and most fruitful response to this call is to remove the blinders of self-interest. To live a simple life of good works and compassion. To "Be Not Afraid" and share the Good News of redemption, to invite others to join the company of Jesus and his disciples through the example of our lives.
As Catholics we end Mass with the words "The Mass has ended; go forth in peace to love and serve the Lord". This is our call to evangelize, our call to Be Not Afraid. The fruits of our response may not be immediate or perhaps even known to us. But the impact will be real, will be genuine, and will be life changing to many.