WORD 2day: Wednesday, 25th week in Ordinary time
September 25, 2019: Ezra 9: 5-9; Luke 9: 1-6
To be believers in God, to be baptised into God's household, to be called 'Christians', is no achievement of ours. It is because the one who created us, has called us! 'It is not you who chose me, but I chose you' declared Jesus. When this truth really dawns on us, apart from an overwhelming gratitude, we would be filled with docility and humility without measure.
This is exactly what we see in the readings today: a candid realisation of being chosen inspite of our unworthiness; and a clear instruction from the Lord as to how to manifest our docility.
Ezra, in and through his prayer, makes it so clear how unworthy the so-called 'people of God' were of that status! Not merely before having been chosen, but even later, even as they were being raised up in front of the eyes of their neighbours and enemies. Jesus, reminds his apostles what it really means to be an apostle - to 'be' an apostle first, before 'doing' anything! Most of the commands that Jesus gave them was to do with themselves, and not exactly what their task was or what the target was!
If we truly realised how merciful and kind God has been in choosing us, we would fully comprehend the meaning of the teachings Jesus gives today. The teaching given in all detail, can be simply stated in one phrase: Be filled with God and fill the world with God!