SURPRISE!
Funny isn’t
it how some people absolutely hate surprises?
When I eat out and the server gives me a long list of choices, I
sometimes say, “Surprise me”. My
companions often protest with, “What if you don’t like it?” Well, say I “That’s the risk. But if I do like it I can add it to my
favorite things.” That makes sense to me
but to others the risk is too great and so they go on ordering the same things
over and over.
I think of
the disciples of Jesus who left Israel to spread the Good News. I am sure some of their friends asked, “What
if no one listens?” or “What if they throw you out of town?” or “What if they
laugh at you?” I’m sure some of them
were dissuaded from going, afraid to take the risk but, thanks be to God, some
went anyway, otherwise we might never have heard the Good News!
St. Paul
was untiring in his efforts to support his disciples as they spread the Gospel
in new places or in places where he left them behind to continue the work he had
begun. His letters always began with
exhortations to diligence and prayer and courage as he tells Timothy: “God did
not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of love.” He often expressed surprise at the depth of
faith of these new congregations.
Possibly because Paul had experienced every kind of hostile
reception on his journeys, when his followers were successful he was elated. Paul himself is a surprise. A persecutor of the Christians transformed
into the most tireless worker in the vineyard of Christ. We have his letters to
give us courage to begin to spread the Good News but we hang back because we
are afraid to take the risk.
The papacy
of Pope Francis is not just meant to change the Church as an institution but to
change us. His intention, like Paul’s is
to encourage us to find the disciple in ourselves. Pope Francis speaks directly to us about spreading the Gospel. Like
Paul he exhorts us to do more than spread the Gospel but to live the Gospel, and
to rejoice in it.
Anyone
willing to take the risk will be surprised at the way their effort changes
lives, including their own.
With love, Carol
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