29^th Sunday in Ordinary Time: Mission Sunday

1. I have always been inspired by the words of Jesus at the conclusion of today’s Gospel passage. I would say that it is one of the texts from the Gospel which most enlightened and supported my vocation to the priesthood. Jesus said:  “For the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” In these words we get a glimpse of the profound love of Christ for each one of us, and we sense the mystery of the redemption which was accomplished in Christ’s death and resurrection. We are given an idea of what it was which inspired him and impelled him towards the ultimate act of love and service on the cross in which he gave his life as a ransom for many.

2. This mystery of the love of Christ the Servant who gave his life in atonement for many is the key to the answer Jesus gave to James and John who wanted seats at either side of him in glory. The answer Jesus gave suggests that anyone who aspires to “sit with” Jesus, to be his companion, to be by his side in any sense needs to be prepared to drink the cup of which he drank, the cup of self-giving service, the cup of love which knows no limits. Jesus was not a High Priest who was incapable of feeling our weakness. His service was one of sympathetic love for his brothers and sisters. Anyone who wants to sit with him, to be by side, needs to be ready to show that kind of love and service. And, as I say, to me it described the kind of priest I hoped I could be and still hope I can be.

3. Today is Mission Sunday. We bring to the centre of our Eucharist today the Church’s mission of evangelisation, the task of preaching the Gospel to the ends of the earth, which began with the first Pentecost and which will carry on until the end of time. Today’s Gospel shows us what a wonderful message it is that the Church brings to the men and women of all peoples: the boundless love of the Servant-God who gave everything, even his life, for them. The message proclaims that each person is loved by Jesus the High Priest who intimately shared our human nature and experience, and who knows the fears and weaknesses and deepest desires of every person, and who is able to bring them salvation, peace, forgiveness, and friendship with God and with man. That love of Christ, says Pope Benedict in his message for Mission Sunday, is the very soul of mission.

4. And what’s more, this message is brought to them priests, religious men and women, and lay faithful who are prepared to “sit with Jesus”, to love as he loved, to serve as he served, to be one with the people to whom they bring the message. They are prepared to share their lives, share their hopes for the future, enhance their human dignity, and help them build their churches and seminaries, their schools, their orphanages, their health centres; help them educate their children, and give them the means to form their priests, religious and catechists so that they themselves can carry out the work of evangelisation.

5. Last year in Scotland, we raised £357, 834 for this work of evangelisation from the second collection at the Mission Sunday Mass. From all sources, MISSIO Scotland was able to send US$786,000 to assist the Church in its work of bringing the love of Christ the Servant-God to the ends of the earth.

6. Let me conclude with the words of the message of our National Director for the Propagation of the Faith, Father Pat McGuire sma, who appeals to us on this Mission Sunday: “Please remember the Mission of the Church in your daily prayer and be as generous as possible to this year’s Mission Sunday Collection. In your name, MISSIO Scotland will continue to share your faith and your love as Christ is shared with us. He, after all, is the very soul of Mission.”

St. James’, Paisley

St. Conval’s, Linwood

Sunday 22^nd October 2006.