Gospel Reflection July 14 – Deacon Frank Iannarino
Sunday, July 14
Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mark 6: 7-13
Gospel:
Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two
and gave them authority over unclean spirits.
He instructed them to take nothing for the journey
but a walking stick—
no food, no sack, no money in their belts.
They were, however, to wear sandals
but not a second tunic.
He said to them,
“Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave.
Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you,
leave there and shake the dust off your feet
in testimony against them.”
So they went off and preached repentance.
The Twelve drove out many demons,
and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.
Gospel Reflection:
At the beginning of the Order of Baptism, the person who is about to receive this first of the Sacraments of Initiation is called by name. This reflects a truth that runs through all of our Catholic teachings: We are here today because God has called us, by name, as individuals. God knows each of us and has created us to be a part of his loving plan for goodness.
In this weekend’s Gospel, we see the striking aftermath of this kind of a call. The disciples are sent, and they drive out many demons and cure many who are ill. They combat the powers of evil and darkness and bring God’s goodness everywhere they go. They also anoint with oil – they offer tangible evidence of God’s presence and share God’s healing generously.
There is a temptation to relegate this pattern to the past, to assume such effects could only be manifested in the lives of great saints of other times. But God’s power has not changed. God’s capacity to work mighty deeds has not diminished.
And our calling is no different – we are created to be saints!
Hearing this call requires us to stop and listen, to be formed in prayer, and to attune our hearts and minds to God’s voice. God is calling us at every moment:
Calling us to relationship with him,
Calling us to love him and one another while sharing the Gospel
Calling us to a life of holiness in witness to the Gospel message.
He calls us, and he never leaves us alone in that call. It is a call to be drawn to his side, swept up in his life, carried by his Spirit. Yes, God will ask much of us, but we should not be afraid of that ask. It is an invitation to live fully, richly, and generously. And we know that anything we give to God, any sacrifice we make in response to his invitation, will be returned and poured out on the world transformed by God’s perfect love.
No matter where we are today following Christ — like the Twelve Apostles, or somewhere in between — we have been summoned by God. He has drawn us here to nourish us, to give us nothing less than his whole self so we can answer that call and participate in God’s work in the world. As we prepare to come to Mass this weekend to receive him in the Holy Eucharist, let us listen for Christ’s call, and ask for the grace we need to answer courageously, to respond actively, and to transform our world with his love.
Deacon Frank Iannarino