A few months ago, my brother and sister-in-law gave me a beautiful white orchid as a gift. And they gave it to me with the instructions to simply water it daily by placing a few ice cubes in its pot. And frankly, since I have been known to kill plants on many occasions, I was glad that the flower they gave me required so little care. This morning, as I went to place the ice cubes into the flower pot, I noticed that one of the new bulbs was about to bloom. With excitement to see the new flower, I almost attempted to open the bulb up myself; but I stopped myself, recognizing that if I got my hands in the process, I would ruin it and the bulb would not flower. So I stood firm in simply committing to the task entrusted to me--to bring the water to the plant that needed it for nourishment.
In our lives of faith, our task is not to be THE nourishment. Our task is not to be THE source of salvation. Our task is not to be THE place where fulfillment is found. But our mission is to be used. Our mission is to direct. Our mission is to be conduits through which Christ can extend his nourishment--his grace, mercy, peace, and love. In 2 Corinthians 12:15, St. Paul writes, "I will gladly spend and be utterly spent for your sakes." And I want my own life to echo this desire. I want to be a follower who desires to be utterly used by the Father; I want to be a disciple that recognizes the gravity of this mission and the amount of souls thirsting for the love of God; but I mostly want to recognize that it is THE LORD who is in control, who provides the grace, who is the power and salvation.
Blessed Pope John Paul II once said, "It is a taxing mission, today more than ever, to teach men the truth about themselves, about their end, their destiny, and to show faithful souls the unspeakable riches of the love of Christ. Do not be afraid of the radicalness of His demands, because Jesus, who loved us first, is prepared to give Himself to you, as well as asking of you. If He asks much of you, it is because He knows you can give much." I love this quote because I think that it first emphasizes that this mission of discipleship is not intended to be easy, but WILL BE unceasingly tiring and perpetually radical. And we don't have to look far to see the truth of this.
We don't have to look far to see souls who do not yet know "the unspeakable riches of the love of Christ". If we go to downtown Columbus on a weekend night, we can clearly see a generation of young people seeking love in empty places. If we look objectively at our families and friends, we see individuals whose lives are crippled by bad choices and who are struggling with restlessness, addictions, misdirection, and unhappiness. If we open up a newspaper or watch the evening news, we are flooded with images of war, hunger, and violence that deeply portray a hurting world. And sadly enough, if we enter any Church on any Sunday, we will still see a large part of the congregation lifelessly worshiping because they have no idea the love that is being offered. THE MISSION IS DAUNTING. And Christ knows this.
But the second part of Pope John Paul II's quote provides the hope. Though "He asks much", we have hope because "He is prepared to give Himself" to us. He is prepared to provide the grace we need to accomplish the mission. He is prepared to heal a broken world through the faithfulness and openness of his disciples. He is prepared to give strength, to provide direction, and to pour out his love to enable us to do that which he calls us to.
Today, let us reflect on our participation in the mission of spreading the Gospel. Perhaps we are lacking purpose and the sense of mission in our lives because we are lacking personal communication with Jesus, the one providing the mission. Perhaps in our lives we are seeking to be the Savior, instead of simply being a conduit to salvation found in Christ. Perhaps we feel overwhelmed by the mission entrusted to us and need to fervently seek the strength of his grace. Today, let us be bold enough to examine what is holding us back from firmly accepting the TAXING mission of Christ. And let us ask for the grace to profess with St. Paul our deep desire to "spend and be utterly spent" for the sake of this beautiful, solely important mission.
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