Fr Kevin Kilgore

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Gospel: Matthew 28: 16-20

The Eleven disciples went to Galilee,
to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them.
When they saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted.
Then Jesus approached and said to them,
“All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.
And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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When I think about Nagasaki, Japan, the first thing that comes to mind is the atomic bomb dropped on it during World War Two, incinerating 37,000 people in a matter of seconds.

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But 350 years earlier, the people of Nagasaki faced another tragedy. The Japanese government was trying to systematically wipe out our faith as Christians were being killed by the thousands. 

The first known group of martyrs included Saint Paul Miki and 25 of his companions, all of whom were crucified on a hill outside of Nagasaki, much like Jesus. Among them were not only priests…but also the elderly, women, even children.

And like Jesus, Saint Paul Miki used the cross as his pulpit to preach his final sermon.

These were his final words: “After Christ’s example, I forgive my persecutors. I do not hate them. I ask God to have pity on all, and I hope my blood will fall on my fellow men as fruitful rain.”

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The Japanese government continued stomping out the Catholic faith until all traces of it were lost. In fact, missionaries would not return to Japan for another 200 years… But when they did, they discovered that Paul Miki’s prayer had mysteriously come true.

They encountered thousands of Christians living quietly in Nagasaki and beyond, reminding us all of a very important truth:

The Church never dies.

In spite of scandal, persecution, or any threat to its mission, the Gospel message will never stop converting and saving souls. But it’s growth partly depends upon people like Paul Miki, his companions… and us.

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In honor of Christ and the martyrs, how might we share our faith with someone else today?

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Image credits: (1) The Fiji Times (2) Church of the Holy Martyrs, Missouri (3) I’m Listening to God, WordPress

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Gospel: Mark 6: 7-13

Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two
and gave them authority over unclean spirits.
He instructed them to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick
–no food, no sack, no money in their belts.
They were, however, to wear sandals but not a second tunic.
He said to them,
“Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave from there.
Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you,
leave there and shake the dust off your feet
in testimony against them.”
So they went off and preached repentance.
The Twelve drove out many demons,
and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Why does Jesus send his disciples out into the world without food, extra clothing, or money in their belts? Even if they had a big breakfast, they’d find themselves hungry and homeless by nightfall without the charity of others.

Certainly, there’s a lesson here on self-reliance. Although the disciples are empowered with the gift of the Spirit, enabling them to cast out demons and heal the sick, they cannot survive in this world alone.  

Nor can any of us. As the old saying goes, “No man is an island.” We need the grace of charity and the warmth of friendship in life.

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But, more directly, Jesus is training his disciples in a Jewish tradition. 

Before walking into the Temple to pray, it was customary for a person to part with their belongings. They’d leave their money, extra layers, and walking stick at the door, while shaking the dust from their feet.

Only then could a person enter the Temple to pray physically unburdened – and by extension, spiritually free.

After praising the Lord, people could gather their belongings and re-enter the world.

By sending his disciples out into the world with the bare essentials, Jesus is teaching them to see everything and everyone they meet as within the Temple. 

The world, and we who inhabit it, are meant to be “holy,” set apart for God.

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Perhaps this is also what the Lord is asking of us – to remove the barriers we impose between the “holy” and the “unholy,” between God and the world. 

Rather, treat everything and everyone we encounter as within the Temple, and thus belonging to God.

How might this change the way we treat others today?

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Image credits: (1) LIFE Runners (2) Pastor Chris Bass, WordPress (3) Crosswalk.com

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Gospel: Mark 6:1-6

Jesus departed from there and came to his native place, 
accompanied by his disciples. 
When the sabbath came he began to teach in the synagogue,
and many who heard him were astonished. 
They said, “Where did this man get all this? 
What kind of wisdom has been given him? 
What mighty deeds are wrought by his hands! 
Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary,
and the brother of James and Joseph and Judas and Simon? 
And are not his sisters here with us?” 
And they took offense at him. 
Jesus said to them,
“A prophet is not without honor except in his native place
and among his own kin and in his own house.” 
So he was not able to perform any mighty deed there,
apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them.
He was amazed at their lack of faith.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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This will be the final time Jesus visits his hometown in Mark’s Gospel. As we know, the Lord wasn’t greeted with welcome signs and open arms; it was complicated. 

On the one hand, Jesus returns with a following. This group of outsiders, from the Twelve Apostles to ordinary strangers who witnessed him perform miracles, gives credence to the idea that he’s more than a carpenter. 

As his neighbors question, “Where did this man get all this? What kind of wisdom has been given him?”

On the other hand, the people of Nazareth must’ve looked at Jesus with a crooked eye. To them, he abandoned his family, particularly his mother. Joseph likely died during Jesus’ teenage years, leaving Mary dependent upon him. 

The fact that Jesus left her to pursue his own path would’ve made him, at least to the locals, a type of persona non grata. Or, as we say in the South, a man who thinks he’s too big for his britches. 

So, why did Jesus leave his mother?

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With hindsight, we know that he had to begin his public ministry. But according to Jewish culture, it was only honorable to leave one’s work and family to study the Torah. Thus, Jesus returns to his hometown as a man who claims to have dedicated his life to God. 

One would think that this might’ve made his kinsfolk more receptive to his return, but anyone who has left their family and their future behind in order to study for the priesthood or religious life may have experienced this same family tension.

While many parents teach their children to put God first, when the rubber meets the road, in their heart of hearts, some actually feel, “Family first. God, a close second.”

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For their lack of faith, Jesus was unable to do much good. Those who knew him in the flesh saw him as an ordinary, blue-collar worker from a small, hilltop town. They couldn’t imagine him as anything more.

Faith would’ve been the one thing that allowed them so see that Jesus was both ordinary and extraordinary.

The son of Mary and the Son of God.

May he increase our own faith to see him for who he is today.

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Image credits: (1) Grace+Truth (2) Psephizo (3) Corpuschristiphx.org