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Gospel: Luke 10: 1-9
At that time the Lord appointed seventy-two others
whom he sent ahead of him in pairs
to every town and place he intended to visit.
He said to them,
“The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few;
so ask the master of the harvest
to send out laborers for his harvest.
Go on your way;
behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves.
Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals;
and greet no one along the way.
Into whatever house you enter, first say,
‘Peace to this household.’
If a peaceful person lives there,
your peace will rest on him;
but if not, it will return to you.
Stay in the same house and eat and drink what is offered to you,
for the laborer deserves his payment.
Do not move about from one house to another.
Whatever town you enter and they welcome you,
eat what is set before you,
cure the sick in it and say to them,
‘The kingdom of God is at hand for you.'”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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A young girl was walking with her father along a beach the morning after a terrible storm blew through, leaving thousands of starfish strewn across the sand.
Suddenly, the girl let go of her father’s hand, walked to the water’s edge and began tossing the starfish back into the sea, one by one.
After several minutes, the father walked over to her and said, “Okay, sweetie, it’s time to go home.”
“But dad,” she said, “all of these starfish will die if we leave them here in the sun!”
“You can’t save them all,” he said. “Saving a few won’t make much of a difference.”
The girl, looking deflated, stood still for a moment. Then she bent over, picked up a starfish, tossed it back into the sea, and said:
“Well, for that one, I just made ALL the difference!”
***
Sometimes when we see the big picture, we get overwhelmed.
A beach strewn with thousands of starfish; a young man ordained a priest; a couple bringing home newborn twins; a child struggling with mental health; a spouse diagnosed with a terminal illness; an unrelenting job; a parish in need of renewal.
Or, in today’s Gospel, a world in need of faith.
Seeing the big picture makes us react in one of two ways: we have either the pessimistic, “nothing will get done,” attitude of the father… or, the childlike, one starfish at a time attitude of his daughter.
How often are we the pessimist, thinking, “This problem is too big to solve. We can’t make a difference. Nothing will get done”?
When we think that way, we’re right. Nothing will get done!
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In today’s Gospel, the disciples have a daunting task before them. Like a beach strewn with thousands of starfish, Jesus sends the disciples out to change the world.
“Behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves,” Jesus tells them. Surely, not everyone will welcome them. They will experience hurt and rejection.
But their faith enables them to hope that some will believe in their message. And so, off they go with childlike faith, tossing one starfish into the ocean at a time.
Slowly, the Church begins to grow. What started with the Twelve Apostles turned into seventy-two…and has since grown by one-million percent, or 1.3 billion Catholics!
Do you think the Apostles ever could’ve imagined that two-thousand years later we would be benefitting from their labors?
Or think of that wonderful disciple who visited our parish a few weeks ago. Sister Draru came and spoke about her mission in Uganda. The Gospel reached Uganda only 150 years ago.
That path was laid by knocking on one door, converting one heart, tossing one starfish back into the ocean at a time.
If missionaries took the attitude of that father, saying, “I can’t make that much of a difference,” then the Gospel never would’ve reached our shores… or theirs.
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So, what is this Gospel saying to us?
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No matter what challenges we face in life, we have to embrace a childlike faith that believes in the power of one.
It’s how we’ve built this parish. We’ve grown by one new parishioner, one returning parishioner, one volunteer, one ministry at a time.
Suddenly, we’re bursting with life!
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What seems daunting to me right now? What challenge am I facing, in my own life?
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It could be the raising of children; the restoration of a marriage; breaking an addiction; or going off to college for the first time.
At times, we can feel like we’re standing on a beach strewn with starfish.
But remember the power of one.
In the end, that beach was cleared. It started with one child. Then her father joined. Eventually, others took notice, joining the effort until every last creature was saved.
Indeed, all things are possible, but it starts with childlike faith that trusts in God and believes – as God does – in the power of one.
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Image credits: (1) QuotesGram (2) www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk (3) Hilton Head Island Packet