OUR MISSION: CLARIFYING CERTAIN ASSUMPTIONS

In the First Reading for this weekend, the prophet Jeremiah proclaims the Lord’s denunciation for those shepherds who instead of caring for the Lord’s flock have resorted to self-care and comfort at the expense of the flock. They have become predators, exploiting the flock for their own selfish interests. As a result, the Lord will raise up a shepherd from the household of his servant David who will take care of his flock as he desires. This promise of a shepherd-king would be fulfilled in Jesus, who calls himself The Good Shepherd. 

In the Old and New Testaments, the idea of Israel as the Lord’s flock was very well articulated. However, the Lord appointed human shepherds to care for his flock, and to bring them complete to him at the close of the day. It was the duty of these shepherds to lead the flock out to pastures, provide them with drink, ward off predators and ensure that the flock was not exposed to disease-causing insects. The pre-occupation of the shepherd was the well-being of the flock. All other pursuits were secondary. And the success of any shepherd was that they presented a complete flock to the owner, and also yielded to the owner of the flock the products from the flock.

In our readings for this weekend, there is the sense that one of the responsibilities of the shepherd is to gather the flock together from where they have been scattered by the unfaithful shepherds. The work of gathering all nations into the one family of God is at the heart of the mission of Jesus Christ. This mission has been entrusted to the church. She is to gather people from every tribe, tongue and nation, and to bring them into the church, which is the family of God. Through the proclamation of the Word, the celebration of the sacraments and the witness to charity, the church is called to shepherd the people of the nations into the family of God. 

Last week, I began explaining our parish mission: “We exist to rescue people from the poverty of an identity outside of Jesus.” This mission has a number of presuppositions that must be avoided. At the same time, there are some presuppositions that should be upheld. For this week I would like to focus on three presuppositions to avoid. 

The first presupposition to avoid is that this mission statement does not suggest what we have not been doing, but highlights what is essential so that we keep it constantly before our faces. We are already working to help people know and love Jesus more. The mission to rescue people from a life outside of Jesus, which we consider the real poverty, is an active one. And it is the responsibility of all who have been baptized to witness to Jesus. Before his ascension, Christ commanded his disciples to Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel. The operative word in this command is “Go.” It implies movement and taking action, rather than a passive or complacent attitude to the mission. The church exists to evangelize, and this mission is one that cannot be ignored. Witnessing to Christ requires boldness, rather than a nonchalant and unconcerned reticence. 

The second presupposition to avoid is a triumphalist mindset. When we speak of rescuing people, we must avoid the “Us” vs. “Them” dichotomy which suggests that we are better than those to whom we are sent. Jesus did not send out perfect people to go preach repentance and the forgiveness of sins. In fact, he sent out fragile, broken and uncouth disciples who did not completely understand the ramifications of the gospel proclaimed by Jesus which he now sends them to go preach. They were by no means the most upright people sent to preach righteousness. They acknowledged that they were sinners sent to preach holiness. They did not wait until they were made perfect before they called others to perfection. This is the deceit of the evil one, to make us feel unworthy to preach Christ because our lives are not completely given over to Christ. Whereas the effectiveness of our mission would be enhanced if we are completely given over to Christ, this should not hinder the proclamation of the gospel. We reform others while we are being reformed as well. So, our responsibility is to deepen our personal relationships with Jesus, but not dangle that in the face of those who are still to accept Jesus as though we are better than they are. 

The third presupposition to avoid is that our mission statement ought to be exhaustive at face value. In order for a mission statement to be memorizable and easy to remember, it must be brief and straight to the point. We want our mission statement to focus on what is most essential, which is to prepare people for heaven through deeper relationship with Jesus. There are some things the parish does that are implied in our mission/vision statements rather than explicit. While we do a lot of good with our food pantry and financial assistance programs, we cannot include these or other things we do in our mission statement. The saying agere sequitur esse (action flows from being) rings true. What we do flows from who we are. What we do as a parish derives from our understanding of what is most important to our existence. And for us, this is relationship with Jesus. 

May Jesus bless you, and may Our Lady protect you!

Fr. Julius