BIG HARVEST, MORE WORKERS
14th
Sunday in Ordinary Time
Amazing Grace
I really enjoyed
the film “Amazing Grace” which I saw about
three
years ago. It didn’t get a very wide
release and it’s probably hard to find on DVD, but is certainly worth looking
for. Don’t be put off by my synopsis of it;
it sounds a bit like a rather dull episode of Masterpiece Theatre, but
in fact, is a very inspiring film about the abolition of slavery in the British
Empire. It tells the story of William
Wilberforce, the British Parliamentarian who was one of the prime leaders in
the abolition movement, certainly the political leader. For thirty years he
worked tirelessly to end slavery despite very discouraging results, especially
at the beginning.
Wilberforce, like most abolitionists, was a devout Christian, a
Methodist. Earlier in his life, he had
undergone a profound religious conversion. He was already a Member of
Parliament, having been elected at a very young age, and he seriously
questioned whether he should quit politics and go into the ministry. There is a
scene in the movie where the members of the abolition movement, Christians
themselves, try to persuade him not to abandon politics: their argument is, “You
say that you can’t decide whether you should serve God or human society. Has it
occurred to you that maybe you can do both?” Wilberforce listens to them and he
stays the course as a politician, strongly influenced by his Christian beliefs.
Wilberforce’s Choice
Years later, he wrote this about his decision to remain in politics: “My
walk is a public one, my business is in the world and I must mix in the
assemblies of men, or quit the post which providence seems to have assigned to
me.” Though he was never ordained as a minister of any church, Wilberforce was
one of the most influential Christians of his time, a politician who did
tremendous good. I can’t help but comment that these days it seems that any
sort of religious motivation in a politician is frowned upon. It is a measure
of how secular we have become and a real pity, given the contribution of
Christians over the years to building a better society - of which the abolition
of slavery is just one example.
Hiring Blitz
In Luke’s Gospel today, we see Jesus doing what any good leader or manager would do when faced with a big task: he puts more
workers on the job. It seems that the twelve apostles were just not enough,
even though they were the inner circle who
had been instructed personally by Jesus. They couldn’t
carry out the task all on their own;
and so
Jesus appoints seventy others to be a kind of advance team. He sends them out
ahead of him in pairs to every town which he intends to visit.
Symbolically Significant Seventy
The number seventy was not chosen haphazardly; it had symbolic meaning.
Seventy was the number of elders chosen by Moses to help him in leading the
people in the wilderness. At that time, seventy was also thought to be the
number of nations in the world. Luke,
among the four Evangelists, always takes
the universal view. This account
foreshadows how the followers of Jesus, after his death and resurrection, would
carry the gospel message worldwide.
From Listeners to Leaders
All seventy disciples must have started out as people who listened to
Jesus’ message and followed him, but with time he added to their responsibilites. They weren’t apostles in the strict sense of
being part of the Twelve, but they shared in the apostolic mission: they were
sent out. Like them, we begin as disciples, people who hear the word and who
believe; but with time we are also asked to share what we received. Catholics are often inclined to limit the
proclamation of the good news to a professional class of clergy and
religious. But the mission is bigger
than that and so it requires a lot more workers. Each baptized Christian in his
or her own way is given a share in the mission.
Mission and Ministry
The universal Catechism of the Catholic Church expresses it very
beautifully where it says, “In the Church there is diversity of ministry, but unity
of mission. To the apostles and their successors, Christ has entrusted the
tasks of teaching, sanctifying, and governing in his name, but the laity also
have, in the Church and in the world, their own assignments in the mission of
the people of God”. William Wilberforce
realized he could do more good as a politician than a minister, especially as a
politician who put his Christian beliefs into practice. In the same way today, we need politicians,
teachers, parents, journalists, business
owners, neighbourhood leaders, coaches, whose faith is at the heart of what
they do.
From the harbour of the priesthood I recognize that lay people have a
better opportunity than the clergy to bring the faith daily into the
marketplace of society. The harvest is
abundant for those who have eyes to see and a heart to respond to it: in hospitals, homes, schools, prisons, work
places, neighbourhoods and governments.
In all these places, the gospel is made visible through people motivated
by their faith; who are effective witnesses, not just by what they do, but by
the way they do it. Jesus did not limit the mission of his Kingdom
to a select few; and neither should we.
Father Dan Miehm
July 4, 2010
St. John the Baptist Parish, Burlington