Scripture Readings:
IS 66:10-14c
Gal 6:14-18
Luke 10:1-9
Discipleship as Bearers of Shalom
Shalom. Peace be with you. This is a familiar
part of our liturgy and ritual as Catholics, giving and sharing peace with one
another. We hear in the Gospel tonight that this is the first thing as
disciples of Jesus that we should say when we encounter a new person or enter
someone’s home. Peace to you, Peace to this household. This is also the same
message that Jesus shares with his scared and grieving friends after his
resurrection: Peace be with you. This is the message we are called to carry and
live as Christians.
We could use some more peace in our world
today. There were more mass shootings in the U.S. last year than there were
days in a year. Just three weeks ago was the massacre at Pulse, an LGBTQ
nightclub in Orlando, FL where 50 lives were lost. Two weeks ago was the one
year anniversary of the Charleston shooting. And then just a few days ago
terrorist attacks in Istanbul, Turkey took the lives of at least 42 with an
additional 200 or so injured. Wars raging around the world, many backed by our
own government, have led to a profound refugee crisis with millions either
internally displaced or fleeing for safety in foreign countries where all too
often they are not greeted with shalom, but rather denied or treated as less
than human. We could use more peace in our world.
We are called as disciples of Jesus, like the
70 sent out in the Gospel tonight, to be bearers of his message of Peace, or in
Hebrew: Shalom. I love the word Shalom because it is a rich and profound word
that means so much more than just what we think of when we say ‘peace.’ It is
not just the absence of war or violence. Shalom is harmony and wholeness within
me and also between persons, groups, or countries. Shalom points to a state of
safety, comfort and completeness as well as prosperity.
We have a beautiful and powerful image of the
kind of Shalom that is promised to the people of Jerusalem in the first reading
today. When we keep in mind that Shalom is harmony, safety, and connection what
more beautiful image is there than that which Isaiah offers us of a mother
breastfeeding her infant. The Peace of God is the peace that is felt between a
mother wrapping her child up in her arms, protecting that child and comforting
that child who she continues to give life to. Truly when we see and experience
this our heart should rejoice!
Shalom reminds us that we need each other. To
be messengers of shalom we can’t pretend like we know it all, or that we are
self-sufficient and don’t need others. Packing lightly on the journey - no
money, no change of clothes or shoes, no supplies - means we have to accept the
hospitality of others. It is a vulnerable position. Like a young infant reliant
on her mother, the 70 who were sent were sent in such a way that they couldn’t
feed and house themselves, they had to rely on the community to offer safety,
protection, and comfort. And in that exchange, that giving and receiving and
breaking bread together, in sharing stories and healing, they made the peace
they offered real. When we follow in these same footsteps, we make the peace of
Christ real.
This is not easy work. Jesus tells his
disciples in the Gospel tonight that he is sending them out like sheep among
wolves. We are not guaranteed safety or protection. There is risk in truly
living a life and message of peace and unity.
But there is also great reward in the healing
power of shalom. When the disciples went out as Jesus instructed they were
amazed at their own power to bring healing, to cast out demons and all that
which brought suffering and division. Their faith and trust in the message and
ministry was enough to heal those open to conversion where perhaps before it
was thought impossible.
However not everyone will be open to this
message of shalom. Jesus goes on to say that if our message of peace is not
received, it will return to us, we dust off our feet and continue on our
journey. This is a particularly challenging message for me, and perhaps some of
you can relate, because sometimes I really want people to change, I really want
to be able to change them. I want them to hear the message and take it to heart
and change their ways, move from violence and division to peace and
reconciliation. I know they can be better and I want them to do better, but
ultimately I can’t control that. I am reminded in Scripture tonight that my
call as a disciple is to be authentic in the path I walk and the message I
share, to seek out and build inclusive communities and shalom relationships,
and when that doesn’t happen to keep my own internal peace, stay true to myself,
and move on to the next person whose path I cross and extend my greeting of
shalom.
What does all of this mean for our own faith
community? How can we make Sts. Clare & Francis a Shalom community - a
community of peace, safety, wholeness, connection, and comfort? Based on the
clues in our Gospel tonight, I think we are on the right path. We have to spend
time with one another, we have to share meals together, we have to share our
true selves - not the fancy clothes, titles, or positions we wear, but who we
really are. We have to help one another heal, because we all have our own
unique demons and shadows that torment us. We have a beautiful caring ministry
who accompanies those who are hurting in different ways, but we are really all
called to care for one another, to offer our presence and a compassionate ear.
And we get to rejoice and celebrate with one another! Because day by day, week
by week, we are participating in not only announcing but building the kingdom
of God here on earth, here in St. Louis, here at Sts. Clare & Francis as we
share the Peace of Christ with one another.
Shalom
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