16th Sunday of Ordinary Time
“Go, therefore, and Make Disciples”
Discipleship has been the focus of my bulletin reflections as well as my Sunday sermons. This is because discipleship is integral to the Christian life. In fact, the word disciple derives from the Latin root which means “learner”, or in other words, to be an apprentice. A disciple is an apprentice of Jesus – one who learns and follows and studies under the tutelage of Jesus. One way we can see ourselves as an apprentice of Christ is through the medium of Sacred Scripture. Our study of Sacred Scripture, and the New Testament in a particular way, transmits the life and teachings of Jesus. However, once received into our minds and hearts, the question that remains is: what is my response? I affectionately refer to this process as spiritual physics. After encountering the Risen Lord Jesus, after undergoing this study that is apprenticeship, after learning from Him, I believe we are necessarily inspired to mission!
Mission isn’t something new – it’s not just the vision of the modern Church. Rather, mission goes back to the vision of Christ, himself. For instance, consider the calling of the twelve as found in Mark’s Gospel. “He appointed twelve [whom he also named apostles] that they might be with him and he might send them forth to preach” (Mark 3:14). “That they might be with him” points to this concept of discipleship – being a learner or apprentice of Jesus. Following that clause, though, comes something revolutionary! “And he might send them forth to preach”. That’s the resulting clarion call and commission of a disciple. The word “apostle” literally means one who is sent away. The contemporary disciple is to be an apostle – one who is sent out on mission to proclaim the Gospel. And this action or work of proclamation (“kerygma” is the Greek word meaning “proclamation”) is what is known as evangelization. Mission means to be sent out in the name of Christ, and evangelization is what we do once we are sent away: to proclaim Christ to others that will facilitate an encounter with the Risen Lord, so that someone else can become a disciple, and make a personal choice and commitment to follow Jesus.
On a side note, if you’re ever wondering how you can succinctly and simply pronounce and proclaim the kerygmatic proclamation, I would encourage using the words of the late Pope Francis in his Apostolic Exhortation “Evangelii Guadium”: Jesus Christ loves you; he gave his life to save you; and now he is living at your side to enlighten, strengthen and free you! (EG 164). Those three points are all that’s needed to make the initial proclamation to someone.
Within this framework, one can ascertain that the nomenclature "disciple" is actually inadequate. That is why Pope Francis asserts that the baptized person must become a “missionary disciple”. Pope Francis goes on to explain, “Every Christian is challenged, here and now, to be actively engaged in evangelization; indeed, anyone who has truly experienced God’s saving love does not need much time or lengthy training to go out and proclaim that love. Every Christian is a missionary to the extent that he or she has encountered the love of God in Christ Jesus: we no longer say that we are “disciples” and “missionaries”, but rather that we are always ‘missionary disciples’” (EG 120).
People of St. Francis de Sales, we are missionary disciples! We remind ourselves of that truth every time we exit church – a sign that quotes the words of the Risen Lord Jesus: “Go, therefore, and make disciples” (Matthew 28:19a).
Wishing you God’s peace and everything good, I remain –
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Fr. Christian Shiu
Administrator
