Travel light

Dear friends, once again, we have come through the doors of the school of discipleship and gathered at the feet of the Master, but we are not meant to stay here for long.  Saint Mark tells us that Jesus called the twelve and began to send them out ... (Mk 6:7).  This is what Jesus does with us as well: he calls us together so that he can teach us how to be his disciples; he feeds us with special food and then he sends us out into the world so that we can share the good news with those we encounter.

Discipleship is a journey that lasts a lifetime, but we must be careful not to burden ourselves with too much baggage, otherwise our journey will be weighed down and arduous.  As he said to the disciples, so Jesus says to us: take nothing for the journey except those things that are absolutely essential (cf Mk 6:8).  Pope Francis has repeatedly invited us to be missionary disciples.  It is our mission in life to spread the joy of the gospel.  Every day, we are invited to enter into people’s lives, to spend time with them, sharing our friendship and the experience of following in the footsteps of Jesus (cf Mk 6:10).

At first glance, it might seem that the task set before us is daunting, but we have the examples of many others who have gone before us, like Amos.  He was very aware of his own limitations, but he also knew that the Lord had sent him out, saying: Go, prophesy to my people (Amos 7:15).

In the same way as the Lord gave Amos the conviction to share his faith with others, so he gives us everything we need so that we too can be missionary disciples, able to tell the men and women of our time that the Lord has destined us for adoption as his precious children (cf Eph 1:5).  Think about that for a moment: you and I are precious children of our God.  What an amazing privilege that is!  Our God is not someone who is distant and remote.  He is here in our midst, speaking with us now through His word, instructing our hearts and souls and encouraging us to realize how deeply we are loved, how precious each one of us is in His eyes.

This is exactly what he has done with each one of his precious children, beginning with the disciples and continuing throughout the centuries that have come and gone.  Then he sends us out – not to live isolated lives of faith, but rather to travel together along the road, celebrating one another’s victories and encouraging one another as we walk along ... until the time that we can gather once again in His presence to learn, to be fed and to be sent out once again.