THE GOD OF MISSIONS

Meditation for 30^th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B
(Jer 31:7-9; Heb 5:1-6; Mk 10:46-52)

1.0.         THE GOD OF MISSIONS

Happy Mission Sunday! It is a bright day as celebrate our call to share in the mission of Jesus Christ. In the first reading, the prophet Jeremiah proclaimed God’s salvation to Israel as He brought them back from exile. The good news of this journey back home is that even who on their own could not make it, were all brought back home and resettled. Among these includes the lame, the blind, the pregnant women, etc. “With weeping they shall come, and with consolations I will lead them back.” We celebrate the God who goes forth to lead His back home, where there is freedom, peace and progress. Above, He resettles His people, even the helpless, where they can worship Him, “For I am a Father to Israel, and Ephraim is my first-born.”

Jesus, the First-Born of God became our high priest, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you…You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek.” In Jesus, God is on a mission to bring salvation to the world and raise up adopted children for eternal life. So Jesus comes as our High Priest to be our mediator; to bring answers to our prayers, to strengthen us in our weakness, to heal our ignorance and waywardness, and to offer the one sacrifice for our sins.

We see this missionary journey of Jesus fulfilled in His encounter with the blind man called Bartimaeus. He called the man out from the lonely roadside, healed his blindness. Imagine such a turnaround for Bartimaeus; it was for him a new life! With his new sight he could see the beauty around. But with the eyes of his faith, he saw that Jesus was his new place of resettlement. The fulfilment of the prophecy of Isaiah that He would bring His people home was fulfilled as Jesus becomes that NEW HOME, where believers are resettled and they find freedom, peace, progress and worship God in spirit and truth. In Jesus as the Mediator, we offer the perfect sacrifice that is pleasing to God, and through which we are offered to God.

2.0.         NO ONE TAKES THIS HONOUR UPON HIMSELF

We are called to share in the mission of Jesus Christ. “And one does not take the honour upon himself, but he is called by God, just as Aaron was.” Every encounter we have with Jesus carries with it at the same time an invitation to the mission, to witness and bring others to salvation. When Bartimaeus realized the new life that Jesus can give, he could not remove his eyes from Him, and he followed him on the way! He became a missionary. The greatest vision he had was the eyes of his faith that saw Jesus deeper than those who even lead him to meet Him. Our participation in the Mission of Christ is our joyful response to the divine touch we received through the grace of Jesus Christ, our High Priest. Amen.

Fr Jude Chinwenwa Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R
Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church
Tedi-Muwo, Lagos.
Sunday October 24th 2021.
www.soundofsilence.ng
www.nwachinwe.blogspot.com