2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time - John 1: 335-42 - Missionary Work

Jesus himself commissions all of us saying, “Go therefor and make disciples of all nations; baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit . . .” Matthew 28:19 

Jesus invites each of us personally to spread the Good News to the whole world.  He calls us to be His missionaries; spreading to the whole world the Good News that God loves us and sent His Son, Jesus, to save us from our sins and bring us into the everlasting peace of God’s heavenly kingdom.  
Jesus calls us to go into all the world and proclaim the Gospel to the whole creation 
He desires us to teach all people to observe what He commanded: to love God and love one another as we are loved by God.

Jesus calls us to be ‘Salt and Light’ to the world; bringing His Truth to all who will hear and being His Light for all the world to see.
He commissions us Testify to the Truth of the Gospel by our lives; giving Glory to God and making Him known in all the corners of the world.
Jesus entrusts to us His mission of salvation for all God’s children.

I don’t know about you, but I find all that to be a bit exhausting and intimidating.   We may ask ourselves, how are we expected to go out into the world to bring the Good News of Jesus Christ to all those people?  Where do we begin?  How do we prepare for such a mission?  Is there training available?  How much time do I have to prepare before I go out into the world?  What are the Lord’s goals and expectations for my success?  What happens if I’m not good at missionary work?  How do I make all this work?

Before we get ourselves all twisted up in a knot - there is something we must always remember: God uses the weak of the world to fulfill his plan and that all things are possible with God.

Today there are about 1.2 billion Catholics in the world.  Just in the Diocese of Trenton there are over 800,000 Catholic disciples of Jesus Christ.  This mighty community of disciples of Jesus began with John the Baptist pointing out the ‘Savior of the World’ to just two of his followers.  John said, “Behold, the Lamb of God” to two people standing near him by the Jordan that day.  He didn’t shout it out from a hilltop or gather a large crowd together to make an announcement, he just told two other people - what he had come to know, that Jesus was the Christ.  John was a missionary for Jesus.  

Andrew, one of the two of John’s disciples who went with Jesus and saw and stayed with him, in turn went to his brother Simon to tell him what he, Andrew, had come to know – that Jesus was the Messiah.  Andrew was a missionary for Jesus.  

Tell a friend about Jesus

This is the great missionary work we all are called to by Jesus.  So, to be a missionary for Jesus we need to tell another person - what we have come to know: That Jesus is the Christ, the holy One of God, the Son of the Father, the Savior of the World, our Lord and Redeemer.  Tell them that you know Jesus is the living Word of God, the One who dwelt among us; bringing us the Good News of the Father’s love for His children.  Share with them the truth of God’s love of us: Jesus’ suffering, death and rising to new life, so we all may be saved from our sins and have life eternal in God’s heavenly kingdom.  Tell a friend what you know – that Jesus is our Lord and Savior.  Be a missionary for Jesus.

BTW – there are 6.4 billion people in the world and over 2 million people living within the 4 counties that comprise the Diocese of Trenton, so there is still much missionary work to be done, but do not be afraid, because Jesus is with us until the end of the age. ~Amen