Each of us has been named and called by God! Each of us has been chosen by God, to play a role in God’s plan for the world. We may shrink back at the thought of having “a role in God’s plan for the world!,” but I strongly believe that God does indeed have a dream for each of our lives, and these dreams — these plans and visions for our lives — are interwoven like a great tapestry that wraps the earth.
The first reading from Exodus laid out the story of how God chose the people of Israel as his special possession. He saved them from slavery in Egypt and entered into a special covenant with them, making them His people and Him their god. He had plans for them and for their future.
And many centuries later Jesus gathered a people unto himself — his disciples — and he too had plans for them and the role they would play in God’s plan for the future of the world.
We see that Jesus, believing in the faith that his disciples possessed, sent them out to share that gift of faith that had been given to them, with others. He sent them out to proclaim the gospel; the good news that the Kingdom of God was at hand. And they would demonstrate this by performing mighty works that would astonish the people and manifest what they preached.
And you and I, we too, as disciples of Jesus Christ, are called to do the same. To preach the Good News, and to be a healing presence in the midst of a wounded world. We are called to be the peacemakers in the midst of conflict and war. Our discipleship calls us to actively work for racial equity and an end to all forms of systemic racism and bigotry in all of our institutions, large and small.
Our discipleship calls us to work to alleviate the suffering of the poor and marginalized, to work to reform our broken immigration and refugee policies and respond in a compassionate and meaningful way to the humanitarian crisis at our southern border.
Let us not be afraid of “the other”, but rather let us imitate Jesus and seek them out, embrace them as our sisters and brothers, as the beloved children of God they indeed are. Let us open our hearts and our minds to God’s dreams and plans for our lives and how we might be of best use to God’s dream and plans for the world!
Happy Juneteenth Day to you all! And let us celebrate and value the lives of all of our Black sisters and brothers, not just this weekend…but ALWAYS!
Blessings,
Fr Tim