25-Jan-21

Gospel Mk 16:15-18

Jesus appeared to the Eleven and said to them:
“Go into the whole world
and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved;
whoever does not believe will be condemned.
These signs will accompany those who believe:
in my name they will drive out demons,
they will speak new languages.
They will pick up serpents with their hands,
and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them.
They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

Reflection

Jesus appeared to the Eleven and said to them:
“Go into the whole world
and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.”

To many Christians, especially Catholics, proclaiming the Gospel doesn’t come easy. We tend to think of it as the pastor’s job to spread the message of God’s love. But we don’t have to be theologians to let people know that God is always with them. A simple, “I’ll pray for you” may mean the world to someone suffering from a threatening illness. A card proclaiming God’s kindness and mercy may be the exact thing they need at that very moment. We don’t have to “preach” to people; we just need to have the faith and courage to let people know what God means in our own life.

“Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved;
whoever does not believe will be condemned.”

So often we think that in order to be “saved” we have to prove our worthiness to God. The truth is, whether we are saved is not a matter of worthiness: It is a matter of faith in God’s desire to forgive.
Jesus said, “Come to me.”
Shall we leave all our sins behind and come to Jesus, or should we stand-fast in our sinfulness and condemn ourselves to a life of isolation and despair?

“These signs will accompany those who believe:
in my name they will drive out demons,
they will speak new languages.
They will pick up serpents with their hands,
and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them.”

I don’t believe Jesus intended that we should attempt to “pick up serpents” or “drink any deadly thing.”
Nevertheless, as a “believer,” I do see “signs” of God’s love that remind me that Jesus is always with us.

I handed “April,” a homeless woman, a few dollars and a prayer card the other day.
She looked at me and said, “Oh, thank you so much. I’ll give it to that man sleeping under the bridge.”
Stunned at her generosity and concern I asked, “What about you?”
She replied, “Oh, I’m fine. A friend told me I could sleep on the floor in their back hall. At least I’m out of the weather. He has to sleep out in the rain.”

I asked if she had ever heard the story of the “Widow’s Mite.”
She replied, “No, why do you ask?”
I told her, “Because in you, April, I just met the widow in the story.”

The “signs” of God’s love are all around us if we have eyes to see and faith to believe in the goodness of God, alive in the people we meet.

“Our hearts call us to love and help the weak and broken because God has shown us love and mercy when we have been at our most undeserving.” Unknown