A CHRISTIAN IS A PERSON ON MISSION. (Homily for April 21, 2016. Thursday of the 4th week of Easter.)


Bible Study: Acts 13, 13 to 25 and John 13, 16 to 20.


Going through the words of Jesus in our Gospel passage this morning, you would notice how he makes use of missionary vocabulary such as: SERVANT, MASTER, SEND, RECEIVE. By washing the feet of his disciples, Jesus gave them an example of what mission is all about; it is first of all realizing that you have been sent and then, bringing yourself down to serve those to whom you were sent. It is being humble enough to help people wash off their dirty sides by pouring the water of God’s words on their feet.

Every Christian must see himself or herself as a person on mission. Being servants of God, the service we owe God is spreading the message. And this mission has no boundary. So long as you meet people on a daily basis, so long as you can identify those aspects of the people’s lives that are in clear contrary to what God demands, you can help to wash their feet. This is exactly what we see the great Apostle Paul do in the first reading. He came to a Jewish synagogue and fully aware that the people knew about the Old Testament, he started his sermon from there and gradually he made them realize that Jesus is the fulfilment of all the hopes and promises of old.

The missionary task is not so much an act of magic. It is precisely being able to speak directly into the minds and hearts of people. It is meeting them where they are and showing them a way forward. Today we celebrate the memorial of a great intellectual giant, a missionary in his own ranking whose writings about God helped shape the face of Theology and Philosophy. As an Abbot and later on a bishop, Anselm defended the faith despite the challenges of excommunication which he suffered twice in the hands of the secular kings who were trying to control the Church.

 Anselm's chief achievement in philosophy was the ontological argument for the existence of God put forth in his "Proslogium". Starting from the notion that God is "that than which nothing greater can be thought", he argues that what exists in reality is greater than that which is only in the mind; wherefore, since "God is that than which nothing greater can be thought", He exists in reality.

Let us pray: Lord Jesus, I am your servant. Use me every day to spread your word. Amen.


God bless you. Good morning. Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you.

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