Jesus Issues To-Do List

𝐉𝐔𝐋𝐘 𝟏𝟎, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓: 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐇 𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊 𝐈𝐍 𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐑𝐘 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄

𝟏𝐬𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝐆𝐞𝐧 𝟒𝟒:𝟏𝟖-𝟐𝟏, 𝟐𝟑-𝟐𝟗; 𝟒𝟓:𝟏-𝟓

𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟏𝟎𝟓:𝟏𝟔-𝟐𝟏 “𝐑𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐞.”

𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋: 𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐓 𝟏𝟎:𝟕-𝟏𝟓

𝑲𝒆𝒚 𝑽𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒆: “𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑲𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒅𝒐𝒎 𝒐𝒇 𝑯𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒆𝒂𝒓.” (𝒗.7) 

         Yesterday we read Jesus choosing his elite team, the 12 disciples whom he has elevated to become the Apostles who will help build the church that Jesus will officially establish on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit takes its place as the Paraclete who will equip and empower the Church as we see it now.

         And today, we see Jesus issuing the four-point mission objectives for what the Apostles and those who will come after them are to do, and these tasks include: (1) 𝑯𝒆𝒂𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒊𝒄𝒌, (2) 𝑹𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒅, (3) 𝑪𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒆𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 (4) 𝑪𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒅𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒔. These, however, are the action part of what the Apostles are to do. Over and above that is the need to proclaim the Kingdom of God to all who will hear and listen.

         These directives are also addressed to us in the light of the call for Christians to participate in the thrust for a renewed zeal to breathe fire not only to the church that is under threat but more so with respect to our personal spirituality through the pursuit of a radical kind of faith.

         To be on fire is to allow the Holy Spirit to illumine all the parts of our lives and give the Spirit primacy over our own dispositions which means that our actions are to be aligned with the promptings of the Holy Spirit on whose command we can do things that we never imagined we can such as to love even the unlovable.

         The pursuit of a radical kind of faith is not about building and reconstructing structures as some members and leaders perceived it but a radical kind of faith which when translated into action is to be in a place where you have not been before. This means doing things you have not done before. It means abandoning your will and embracing the Will of the One who created you.

         One time I had a very long and fruitful talk with Bishop Jesse Mercado of the Diocese of Paranaque who also used to be my Bishop during the time when I served in the Board of the Sangguniang Laiko ng Pilipinas and I clearly remember what he said that faith can only be complete if it is lived and shared with the others. In other words, faith is inconsequential if it remains as a head knowledge. Faith, he said, can only find its consummation if it is lived and shared.

         As such, we are to profess our faithfulness to our Trinitarian God by living a trinitarian life – God, neighbor (others) and me. And there shouldn’t be any doubt as to whether we can be as one for as long as we keep on recognizing and accepting the truth of our faith – that we have a God who creates everything unto Himself (Father), a God who redeems the fallen nature of man and reunites it to Himself (the Son) and, a God who sanctifies (Holy Spirit) the work of our hands.

         Notice too that the mission that Jesus gave to the Apostles are the same with what He has been doing during his earthly ministry. It presupposes that the Apostles have seen what he has done, and Jesus also is showing us now how to heal the sick, raise the dead to life, cleanse the lepers and cast out demons and what He expects is that we can replicate this in our own mission.

         Raising the dead to life can be a metaphor because a dead person need not necessarily be dead physically but anyone whose life is enveloped by darkness is considered dead. The Jews then and now equate death with sinfulness in the same way that it is the belief of the Jews that persons afflicted with leprosy are because of their sins.

         And what Jesus is saying is that we can help bring back to life a person who is unclean if we can help them heal themselves and provide them with the antidote to their unforgiveness, bitterness and, resentments which may have been lingering in their lives that make them unclean.

         As with the Apostles, we are to do this in conjunction with the more important task of proclaiming the Kingdom of God. The Jews longed to have their own Kingdom and be freed from the oppression, but they had a different mindset of the Messiah. And what Jesus was saying was that His coming into the world heralds the coming of the Kingdom of God.

         This pronouncement rings true even today that the Kingdom of God is near. Jesus has begun His Kingdom in the hearts of His Apostles and his disciples and in us whom He has gathered from the dark valleys where we dwelt before Jesus found us. The time will come when this Kingdom will be fully realized, and evil will be erased from the face of the earth and the people will live in peace with one another.

         He is also telling us that the gift of life that we received has been freely given by Our God and that we are to also give this gift to others as a free gift. Translated into action, what Jesus is saying is that for all the many blessings that we have received, we are now called upon to give generously of our time, love and possessions.

         To serve God without counting the cost is one of the things that we can give back to Our Lord. We have all been purchased at a high price with the life that the Son of God offered for our redemption. Our calling is to serve Him faithfully in our community’s activities.

         Finally, Jesus admonishes us that we are not to receive payment for our services in the Kingdom especially when we exercise our gifts although we can receive some form of compensation when we do things outside of the practice of our gifts. Just as a Rabbi in the olden times are forbidden to accept payment for his teaching, he can do so if he teaches a child because teaching a child is the duty of the parent and teaching a child is an extra preoccupation for a Rabbi in those days.

         As with the Apostles, we too are commanded to simply shake off the dust on our feet – meaning leave when the person or people we bring the Good News to will not listen or will reject the Kingdom of God and proceed to a more fertile field where the Good News will be accepted with enthusiasm and delight. (𝘌𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘺 – 𝘑𝘶𝘭𝘺 10, 2025)