Mission Impossible

Preparing for today's Mass made me think of the old TV series, Mission Impossible.

Many of us can probably remember that show.

And if you can, here’s a little shock for you.

That series ended 40 years ago!  Time is flying by.

(And here’s a little trivia from Google: Leonard Nimoy, Mr Spock of Star Trek,

was a member of the Mission Impossible team.)

If you can’t remember the first run, you might remember the reruns.

Or maybe the Tom Cruise movie by the same name that’s only 15 years old.

Whether we remember the series or not, it’s a common phrase—Mission Impossible.

An assignment that seems to be beyond accomplishment, but yet needs to be carried out.

An assignment that brings us honor for merely attempting it.

Today is World Mission Sunday.

A day to reflect on spreading the Good News of Christ throughout the world.

The news that we have a God who loves us—who wants to have us with him.

The news that heaven awaits us.

The news that everyone should love us, and we should love them.

That we’re commanded to love one another.

How’s that going?

Jesus himself sent out his disciples on their first mission two thousand years ago.

We might think the job should be done by now.

But he’s still sending us out today.

According to Wikipedia: A missionary is a member of a religious group 

sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service,

such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development.

Some missionaries travel great distances.

To remote corners of the earth.

And that’s necessary.

How else will the word reach there?

And not just the word.

But the example.

The living example of the word is needed.

The missionaries are not only the message bearers, but also the servants.

And their service demonstrates the truth of their message.

We’re all missionaries; we were called to that service at baptism.

Each of us has the mission to save ourselves and to save the world.
But we don’t all need to travel to distant corners of the earth to pursue our mission.

There are many areas nearby where the Good News is unknown or ignored.

Pockets where the need is just as great as in the most remote, isolated village.

Individuals or groups who haven’t really heard, or haven’t really listened.

Individuals or groups who might be reached by the right example, the right servant.

They might be in our own neighborhood.

In our own office.

At our own dinner table.
From time to time, perhaps in or own mirror.

How do we reach them?

Sometimes, the closer we are to the people we’re trying to reach,

the harder it seems to succeed.

Deep down, we know that we've been given a great gift.

The gift of faith.

The gift of knowing that Good News.

And we want to share it; we want others to enjoy that same gift.

We want to share it with the whole world.

And especially with those we care about most.

But, it often seems we could do better in that remote foreign village.

As Jesus himself said,

A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and in his own house.

Evangelizing at home may seem all too much like Mission Impossible.

But when words don’t work, we can still try action and example and service.

Saving ourselves and saving the world is quite a mission.

To try that alone would indeed be Mission Impossible.

Jesus told us: It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle

than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.

(And look around the world—we are indeed the rich.)

His disciples were shocked; they believed that wealth was a sign of God’s favor.

So they asked, Then who can be saved?

And Jesus answered:

For human beings it is impossible, but not for God.  All things are possible for God.

 

Acting alone, we can’t save ourselves and we can’t save the world.

But God is with us to make it possible.

He’s in control; he’s sending us to help in his work.

We are his representatives, his hands and feet, his physical presence in this world.

His servants—and each others’ servants.

As we heard in today’s Gospel:

Whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant.
For the Son of Man did not come to be served
but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.

We’ll probably never be called to give our life in the way Jesus did.

But we are called to devote our lives to others.

To share the gifts we've received: our faith, our time, our talent and our treasure.

To complete our mission.

To do our part in building the Kingdom of Heaven on earth.

To make that Kingdom not only possible, but real.

29^th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Mk 10:35-45                                    Read this Scripture @usccb.org