How
to be an Apostle
Homily
for the 10th Sunday after Pentecost (2 August 2015)
1
Corinthians 4:9-16
Matthew 17:14-23
Today’s readings are about
Apostles: what they try to do, what they
can do, what they need to do what they can do.
It would be easy to say
that these readings don’t apply to us because we’re not Apostles—or because
only deacons, priests, and bishops are Apostles—but actually we are all apostles; that is, people who
are sent forth. By our initiation into
the Church, which is the Body of Christ on earth—by our Baptism, Chrismation,
and reception of the Holy Eucharist—we are all sent forth into the world to
proclaim the Good News of salvation for all people through Jesus Christ.
Everyone does this in his
or her own way—some by preaching, some by teaching, some by taking care of
their families, some by the way they run their businesses and treat their
customers and employees.
But these lessons about
apostleship apply to all of us, so let’s look at them.
In the Gospel story, the
Apostles have tried to heal the boy who has seizures so bad that he tries to
kill himself. This boy could stand for
something more than illness; we can think of him as a symbol of the suffering
and pain in the world caused by the devil.
It is uncontrollable and destructive, and it strikes innocent people.
The boy’s father, and the
Apostles themselves, thought that they could cast out the demon and heal the
boy—probably their special position made them think this. After all, they were chosen by Jesus the
Master, and taught by Him, and given power by Him.
But they couldn’t heal the
boy. Just as all the archbishops and
presidents and ambassadors and generals can’t cure the troubles of the world.
Jesus tells the Apostles
that they don’t have strong enough faith, and that this kind of demon can be
cast out only by prayer and fasting.
Their position and authority and self-importance are not enough to do
it, just as church position or government titles or military power are not
enough.
The demonic, destructive
troubles in our lives and in the world can be dealt with only by Apostles who
have deep faith, humility, and prayer.
In other words, anyone who
wants to get the devil to submit first has to submit himself or herself to the
will of God and the power of God.
In his Letter to the
Corinthians, St Paul describes the situation of Apostles: foolish, weak, disrespected, hungry, poor,
homeless, tired, like the rubbish of the world.
Apostles don’t seek this poverty and humiliation and disrespect, but
they accept it for the sake of doing God’s work—the work of our heavenly
Father.
For us, as apostles also,
this means that our faith in God must come before anything else in our
lives—before jobs and salaries, before possessions and comforts, before power
and prestige. Without faith in God’s
power, we can’t accomplish anything.
Unless we submit to God’s will, whatever we might want to do—even good
and wonderful things—won’t amount to anything.
But if we put God’s will
ahead of our own, and if we have faith in God’s mercy and wisdom and power,
nothing will be impossible that we try to do in His name—the most holy name of the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, One God, now and ever and unto the ages
of ages. Amen.
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