Friday, 20 September 2024. Readings: 1 Corinthians 15:12-20, Ps. 17:1,6-8,15, Luke 8:1-3
“And the twelve were with him, and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities.” (Luke 8:1-2)
Today’s Gospel passage mentions that certain women accompanied Jesus during his missionary enterprise. These women were not simply part of the crowd; they played a very important role in the success of Jesus’ ministry by providing for Jesus and his disciples out of their means.
- Without proper nutrition, it is difficult to do God’s work. No one can fast for a year and still have the energy to go from place to place spreading the Good News. In other words, no one can underestimate these women who provided for Jesus. They may have worked behind the scenes, but they were equally as important as the twelve apostles.
- Apart from these women, Luke mentions that many others, including men, worked quietly in the background to ensure the success of Jesus’ mission. At the election of a replacement for Judas Iscariot, Peter said: “So one of the men who had accompanied us during the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us -- one of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection.” (Acts 1:21-22). Matthias was one of those who assisted Jesus quietly.
- In today’s first reading, St. Paul explains that if Christ had not risen from the dead, then Christianity is a lie. In other words, the whole enterprise of our faith rests on the solid foundation that Christ died and rose from the dead. Interestingly, these women who accompanied Jesus were the first to witness the resurrection of Jesus. It is not coincidental that God wanted it this way.
- Dear friends, in God’s vineyard, there is no need to look down on the function anyone plays. We all have different callings, but none is more important than the other. Albert Einstein said: “If the bee disappeared off the face of the earth, man would only have four years left to live.” This is just an example of how roles could be different yet complementary. Everyone’s role is different, but we all need each other.
- A priest who celebrates Mass is not more important than a nun who is unseen or unheard. Like the various parts of the human body, everyone plays their role for the common good. What would happen if our intestines decided to replace the hands? In terms of importance, we are all important, but we just cannot perform the same roles.
- Some of these women who assisted Jesus had a dark past. Luke tells us that Jesus healed them of evil spirits and infirmities. Indeed, God does not call the qualified but qualifies those who make themselves available. Writing to the Corinthians, St. Paul states: “For consider your call, brethren; not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth, but God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong, God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:26-29). Even St. Paul himself had a past.
- Today, we remember the Korean martyrs. In 1794, the Chinese, the first priest to visit Korea, found a community of 4,000 Catholics who had never seen a priest. He was executed in 1801. Two further Chinese priests, sent at the request of the Korean Church, had a similarly brief ministry. Some thirty years later, at the request of the Korean Catholics, Pope Leo XII established the Prefecture Apostolic of Korea, and a new missionary phase began. The first of these missionaries, a French priest from the Paris Foreign Mission Society, entered the country in 1836 and was beheaded three years later. Many others followed. Andrew Kim Taegön, the first Korean priest, was secretly trained in Macao, entered Korea in 1845 and was executed in 1846, together with his father. A lay apostle, St. Paul Chong Hasang, and many others perished simultaneously. A further major persecution occurred in 1866. In all, 103 Korean martyrs are celebrated today: they are mostly lay men and women: some married, some not; some old, some young, and some even children.
Let us pray: Almighty, ever-living God, give us the grace to play our roles for your kingdom and never look down on anyone's function. We ask this through Our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God forever and ever. Amen.
Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. May God’s abundant blessings be upon us all. (Saints Andrew Kim Taegon, Priest, Paul Chong Hasang, and their Companions, Martyrs. Bible Study: 1 Corinthians 15:12-20, Ps. 17:1,6-8,15, Luke 8:1-3).
@Rev. Fr. Evaristus E. Abu
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