The people are gathered together to hear the word of God in the first reading for mass today. The entire reading is very similar to our Catholic mass and sounds a lot like our Christmas and Easter masses too, because the people celebrated afterwards with rich foods and sweet drinks. It was a solemn occasion though. Evidently the people started crying when Ezra read to them. However, Ezra and Nehemiah told them to stop crying and celebrate instead, because it was a day holy unto the Lord. The Levites quieted all the people saying “Hush, for today is holy, and you must not be saddened.”
Part of the reason the people were saddened is because they came to understand the truth in God’s word. Perhaps they came to a realization that they were not living the way that God wanted them to live and when the truth sunk in, they cried. The truth hurts. It is painful to realize that the way you have been living is not right in God’s eyes and anytime we are faced with the truth about ourselves, it is painful. However, God does not want us to dwell on this. We need to face our own faults or shortcomings and then let it go. We should strive to learn from our mistakes and do better from that point on, but we should not dwell on our past mistakes. God wants us to know and understand the truth about ourselves, but He also wants us to be happy.
It’s interesting how Jesus sent seventy two disciples ahead of him to every town that he intended to visit in the gospel today. It was kind of like breaking the ice in preparation for his visit. Jesus would be better received in these towns if they knew a little about him before his arrival. We do the same thing in today’s world when we advertise that a famous person is coming to visit our town, or country as well. It takes a lot of work to prepare for a pope’s visit to another country, for an example. Without a lot of preparation, very few people would show up for the occasion. That is why the laity do very important work in the life of the church. The priests in our own parishes do not gather the people to come to mass, or interest them in becoming a Catholic, the laity do.
We are all called the help “gather people” for the Lord. Jesus said in today’s gospel that “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.” This verse in scripture is often quoted as a reminder for us to pray for more vocations to the priesthood too, because in certain parts of the world, especially in the US, the number of young men interested in the priesthood is dwindling. Do you know a young man that would make a good priest? Have you told them this? Sometimes a young man feels the calling to the priesthood but feels unworthy of this call. You could make all the difference in helping them see past their own limited view of themselves, to the greater calling that God has in mind for them.
Just as the laity are called to evangelize the world in which we live, we are also called to encourage one another to fulfill what God has called each one of us to do, whether that is to become a priest or religious, a catechist, or just to lead a bible study for an example. Sometimes the reason people do not step into these roles in our church is because of a lack of confidence in their abilities. The challenge for today might be to help others see the good traits they already possess and encourage them to develop their talents and abilities to serve the church .
Jesus doesn’t call the trained, he trains the called, just like in today’s gospel. Jesus didn’t wait until the disciples were fully trained before sending them out into the world to do his will, part of their training would be hands on experience and this is true for all of us today as well. The best way to learn to become the person the good Lord has called us to be is to simply take the first step. The rest will come, for we do not guide our lives on our own, but rely on Jesus Christ and the working of the Holy Spirit to help guide us in all that we do.
“The Kingdom of God is at hand.” Are we ready to proclaim Jesus Christ to the world? Do we know someone else that we can also encourage to proclaim that Jesus is the Lord? This could be food for thought for the day.
Daily Mass Readings:
Neh 8: 1-12 / Ps 19: 8-11 / Lk 10: 1-12
