At the End of the holy Mass the priest or the deacon says: “Ite missa est!” It may be translated as: „Go! You are sent“. As Christians we participate in the mission of Jesus. Christ invites us to be prepared to be sent to proclaim the good news.In the history of Christianity there were wandering missionaries, wandering preachers and wandering bishops who proclaimed the good news and led the people to Christ and to his message.
The origin of this way of wandering missionaries has its origin in the gospels. Jesus wanted his disciples to remain in a community of at least two and to take up the task of preaching. It shows that Jesus was convinced of mutual belongingness, togetherness and common undertaking of the mission of preaching. The word church means community of believers. Thus we understand and speak of the community of Christians.
Jesus promises power over the evil spirit to every preacher of the good news. In today’s understanding of the human person we can interpret that every human person possesses in himself positive and negative elements and each and every one can decide whether he want to promote positive energy or negative energy. Winning over egoism is needed to be positive and to have power over evil spirit. In each human being God has bestowed the capability to be loving and selfless. As Christians we are called to be good and to help people to be human and be divine as the salt of the water.
The words of Jesus not to take anything with, neither bread, nor money, not even two cloths mean that we should be independent and renounce all kinds of possessions. We should be aware that we have to leave everything and nothing material will be belonging to us.
The command to stay in the house where they arrive means that we should feel comfortable where we live and where we can fulfill our mission as Christians. The healing of the sick through an anointing with oil, which we can describe as the earlier form of anointing of the sick, or the healing of the sick without anointing, which Jesus and his disciples performed several times, are part of the proclamation. There are different types of illness and different stages and levels of healing. Everyone can contribute to the healing of the sick; this task is part of our Christian mission. It doesn’t always have to be an anointing of the sick with oil or a visit from a specially commissioned pastor, but every Christian can do something for the healing of the sick through word and deed and it is a gratifying experience that many believing Christians do this because of their faith and conviction which in turn positively influence the healing process of many sick people.
The text of today’s gospel show that the words of Jesus is meant to every Christian. Each and every one has to follow Jesus on its own place and situation and suiting to the context. I wish you the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in your hearts to understand the message of Christ and to practice the message you have received from Christ.
Fr. Joseph Pandiappallil MCBS