In the Gospel Jesus sends his disciples to spread the good news of freedom from evil, thanks to the arrival of God’s plan for history. In the second reading Paul tells us that God’s plan for the world and for human history focuses on Jesus, in whom “God would bring everything together under Christ as head.” Jesus taught us that we are all brothers and sisters, children of the same Father.

That is the main message given to us. It is the very message entrusted to us by Jesus. But when Jesus commissioned his disciples, he warned them that they, too, might meet with rejection, like Amos and other prophets. But he told them that they should not give up on that account. Jesus himself met with rejection and death, but the Word of God does not die. It continues to live and guide the world to peace and justice, honesty and compassion toward one another. That is the word we share here today, the word we are to live by.

Did you notice what today’s leaflet says on the front page? “A good test of how meaningful our faith is would be how much we want to share it with others.” We cannot keep quiet about what is good, precious, and beautiful. We may wonder how to go about that. How do we go about sharing our treasure? The next sentence gives us a hint. “Our way of living the Gospel values may be one of the best approaches to reach out to people around us.” That means that dealing with people honestly and compassionately is the best way to show them our treasure, by showing the honest and compassionate face of Christ.

Oh, that may seem like too big a challenge. “What, me?” you might say. With this face? Yes, with that face! Turn the frown into a smile. Make eye contact when possible and share a greeting, even if it’s a silent greeting by simply acknowledging the presence of another person. We do not have to give a summary of Christian teaching in order to share Christ with others. With whatever face we are given, we can show our interest, our concern, our joy and understanding and compassion. We can make the effort to relate to others, to listen to them, and understand their concerns and frustrations. I suggest that, while doing so, we make a silent inner prayer to the Spirit dwelling in us. Jesus assures us that “the Spirit of your Father will speak through you.” That can happen if our hearts are open, and if we listen at the same time to the person speaking to us and to the Spirit speaking within us. That effort to listen will surely make what we say more compassionate and Christ-like, and we will share in the mission of healing that Jesus gave us.

Robert Chiesa, SJ