Sent to preach and heal
A Gospel Enquiry
Introduction
Recently, I was present at a parish RCIA meeting. The group was using a publication from the Sydney Catholic Enquiry Centre, titled Call and Response: An Introduction to the Catholic Faith. We read and discussed Chapter 28, “Prayer and Action.”
The author makes use of the story of Jesus visiting Martha and Mary (Luke 10:38-42) to examine the relationship between prayer and action. He concludes with:
Jesus is making the point that the disciple is first a listener to the Word and this should not be taken away. It is out of attentive listening to the Word of God that action arises (Call and Response, p. 114).
One of the difficulties we can experience when we participate in an Enquiry is the temptation to ignore or gloss over the Judge part of the Enquiry. In the Judge part, we “listen” to the Word of God, which comes to us through Scripture and Tradition.
It is that part of the Enquiry where we become theologians, but always within a prayerful environment. The words we use to share our relationship with God belong in the theological realm because they are our interpretation of our encounter with the Divine in the world. It must always be our intention to do the Will of God when we reflect and then act.
May this be your intention as you engage in this Gospel Enquiry
The Gospel
Jesus made a tour round the villages, teaching. Then he summoned the Twelve and began to send them out in pairs giving them authority over the unclean spirits. And he instructed them to take nothing for the journey except a staff – no bread, no haversack, no coppers for their purses. They were to wear sandals but, he added, ‘Do not take a spare tunic.’ And he said to them, ‘If you enter a house anywhere, stay there until you leave the district. And if any place does not welcome you and people refuse to listen to you, as you walk away shake off the dust from under your feet as a sign to them.’ So they set off to preach repentance; and they cast out many devils, and anointed many sick people with oil and cured them. (Mark 6:7-13)
The Enquiry
See
Use your own words to describe what you see in the Gospel. Include a summary of the instructions that Jesus gives to his apostles.
Why does Jesus send them out in pairs to preach and to heal?
What happens because they carry out their mission in the way that Jesus told them to act?
Judge
What do you think of what you have read? What have you experienced in your life that is similar to, or opposes what you have read here?
How does this Gospel challenge your view of the world and your place in it?
What is there in this Gospel that reminds you of what prayer is meant to be?
Act
What are you being called to change in the world because of your interaction with the Gospel?
What action can you carry out this week that will contribute to the change you would like to make?
Who can you involve in your action, when, how often and how?
Image source: Fr Lawrence Lew OP (Creator): This mosaic from the old papal triclinium of the Lateran Palace dates to c.800 and was installed during the reign of Pope Leo III. It shows Christ sending out the College of Apostles, of whom the bishops are successors, to preach the Gospel. Flickr, CC BY NC-ND 2.0
Worth reading:
Collins, J.F. (2021). Call and Response: An Introduction to the Catholic Faith. Strathfield, NSW: St Pauls Publications.