We Are All Missionaries

I'm always a bit dismayed by the attitude of many Catholics, both laypeople and clergy, when it comes to the call to evangelize. They hear Jesus' Great Commission proclaimed in the Gospel and somehow think it doesn't apply to them. Here it is again, the last words of our risen Jesus in Matthew's Gospel:

Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age." (Mt 28:16-20)

It sure seems like a pretty straightforward command to me. First Jesus tells the apostles that He has complete authority over all of creation. Then He instructs them to go everywhere making disciples, and to do it through baptism and the teaching of His commands. And to give them hope, to ensure they don't hesitate because of fear, He assures them He will always be with them. As I say, pretty straightforward. And yet some Christians apparently don't accept it.

A few years ago Diane and I took a leisurely road trip out West. One Sunday we attended Mass in a fairly large parish church in northern California. I especially remember the fact that there were no kneelers anywhere in the Church, even in their side chapel where I was told they occasionally celebrated Benediction. And so I was prepared for an interesting homily and the pastor didn't disappoint me. In the course of his remarks he mentioned that he had been asked by someone whether Catholics should actively proselytize among the Muslim community in response to Jesus' call to "make disciples of all nations." His answer was a loud, resounding, "No!" In effect he told his parishioners that Muslims were just fine as they were, that there was no need to turn them into Catholics. The same was true, he said, when it came to Jews, or Seventh Day Adventists, or Buddhists, or Zoroastrians. Devout people, regardless of their religious beliefs, are all doing God's work in the world, and we should not try to change them. As for that so-called Great Commission, well, it really only applied to the apostles and the early Church. It was, in this pastor's words, Jesus' way of "jump-starting the Church" among all those pagans, but it certainly didn't apply to us sophisticated moderns.

Yes, it was quite a homily, filled with all sorts of little off-the-wall snippets, but also, thankfully, no overly long. I won't even discuss what the liturgy was like.

And then today, while searching for something else on the Vatican's website, I came across Pope Benedict's message delivered on the occasion of Word Mission Sunday (January 6). In his message the pope seemed to be speaking directly to folks like that pastor in California when he said:

"...an increasing number of people, although they have received the Gospel proclamation, have forgotten or abandoned it and no longer recognize that they belong to the Church; and in many contemporary contexts, even in traditionally Christian societies, people are averse to opening themselves to the word of faith. A cultural change nourished by globalization, by currents of thought and by the prevalent relativism, is taking place. This change is leading to a mindset and lifestyle that ignore the Gospel Message, as though God did not exist, and exalt the quest for well-being, easy earnings, a career and success as life’s purpose, even to the detriment of moral values."

The Holy Father then goes on to explain the universality of the call to evangelize:

"The universal mission involves all, all things and always. The Gospel is not an exclusive possession of whoever has received it but a gift to share, good news to communicate. And this gift-commitment is not only entrusted to a few but on the contrary to all the baptized, who are 'a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people' (1 Pt 2:9), so that they may declare his wonderful deeds...It is important that both individual baptized people and ecclesial communities be involved in the mission, not sporadically or occasionally but in a constant manner, as a form of Christian life."

Good words for an examination of conscience this Lent, as we ask ourselves how faithful we have been to Jesus' commands.

If you'd like to read Pope Benedict's entire message, click here: World Mission Sunday, 2011