In today’s gospel, we see Jesus sending out his closest twelve disciples to spread his message: the Kingdom of God is at hand. He sends them to do the critical work of evangelizing and healing. Drive out unclean spirits and cure every disease. He gives them “authority” over unclean spirits.
Seriously? Did he check their resumes? These are not men who are powerful leaders.
The group includes Peter, a man so afraid of getting into trouble that he eventually would lie about even knowing Jesus. James and John argued over which one of them would be remembered as the greatest of the disciples. Thomas simply could not believe that Jesus has risen from the dead until he saw it with his own eyes. Matthew was a despised tax collector. And Judas was a close friend whose name has come down through the ages as synonymous with traitor.
In our practical and logical minds we might be saying, “What was Jesus thinking? I wouldn’t have hired any of them!” They were losers and outcasts, poor and powerless.
Here is where we beg for the grace to see that Jesus sees us differently than we do. We see clearly our own flaws - and more clearly everyone else’s! All of us are stricken with terror and too often, that fear rules our lives. We let our egos get in the way and bicker about our importance and we doubt things we should believe. We judge those on the outside – like Matthew – and yet we are often on the outside ourselves.
And who is it that Jesus calls today to spread his word? Each one of us. He calls us through our fears and loves us when we are outcasts. He hears our doubts with his heart instead of logic and loves us all the more. Even Judas was cherished by Jesus.
So today we are sent. In all of our imperfections and in all of the ways we know we are inadequate. We are sent to heal those in our world who need healing. To forgive those who desperately need our forgiveness. To drive out the unclean spirits of jealousy, greed and anger.
Today, in all of our real world humanity, we are called by Jesus to spread the good news: The Kingdom of God is here!
Maureen McCann Waldron
The most important part of my life is my family – Jim my husband of 47 years and our two children. Our daughter Katy, a banker here in Omaha, and her husband John, have three wonderful children: Charlotte, Daniel and Elizabeth Grace. Our son Jack and his wife, Ellie, have added to our joy with their sons, Peter and Joseph.
I think family life is an incredible way to find God, even in (or maybe I should say, especially in) the most frustrating or mundane moments.
I am a native of the East Coast after graduating in 1971 from Archbishop John Carroll High School in suburban Philadelphia. I graduated from Creighton University in 1975 with a degree in Journalism and spent most of the next 20 years in corporate public relations in Omaha. I returned to Creighton in the 1990s and completed a master’s degree in Christian Spirituality in 1998.
As our children were growing up, my favorite times were always family dinners at home when the four of us would talk about our days. But now that our kids are gone from home, my husband and I have rediscovered how nice it is to have a quiet dinner together. I also have a special place in my heart for family vacations when the kids were little and four of us were away from home together. It’s a joy to be with my growing family.
Writing a Daily Reflection is always a graced moment, because only with God’s help could I ever write one. I know my own life is hectic, disjointed and imperfect and I know most of us have lives like that. I usually write from that point of view and I always seem to find some sentence, some word in the readings that speaks right to me, in all of my imperfection. I hope that whatever I write is in some way supportive of others.
It’s an incredibly humbling experience to hear from someone who was touched by something I wrote. Whether the note is from someone across campus or across the world, it makes me realize how connected we are all in our longing to grow closer to God.
