15th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (B)
Sunday 14 July 2024
Mk 6:7-13
“He called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. He ordered them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts; but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics… So they went out and proclaimed that all should repent. They cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.”
(Mk 6:7-9;12-13)
The Twelve that Jesus calls are simple people, who He chooses to be with Him, but also to send them out. We might be surprised, reading the very detailed instructions that the Master addresses to his followers. And these are not mere suggestions, but commands, essential for the success of the mission. The detailed explanation of the procedure could be summed up in one word: depend! If we don’t learn to depend on the Lord and His providence, we cannot be sent out by Him.
Through depending on Him, Jesus teaches us, and we learn, to trust. If faith doesn’t have this trust component, it isn’t authentic and certainly isn’t the faith that overcomes the world of disbelief and indifference.
As we read in vv. 12 – 13, the apostles’ actions are essentially messianic signs, signs that Jesus has worked and now continues to do through those He sends: the Good News is proclaimed, demons are cast out, and many sick are healed. It should be kept in mind that the Evil One is the father of lies: he uses two fundamental lies. The first is: “I don’t exist, it’s all a fiction”. The second, which he insinuates when he was identified and unmasked, is that he is “stronger”!
This is all false! The truth is that Jesus Christ overcame the works of the evil and sin, and with the power of his blood gave us freedom. This is what Jesus accomplished on this earth, and what we are sent to accomplish in his name, by first of all learning to depend on Him!
Fr. Giuseppe
