Just a few short weeks ago, we brought the liturgical season of Christmas to a close and entered into what is known simply as Ordinary Time. During the first few weeks of this “ordinary” season, the Gospel readings at Mass have shown Jesus actively involved in comforting, healing and strengthening people, doing what can be defined fundamentally as ministry and outreach.
What is important to note is that our Lord did not begin His work as a teacher, but as a healer. It was His power to restore people to a state of well-being that made Him initially so attractive to the masses, not His clarity and authority in teaching. In order for Him to teach effectively, it was necessary first for Jesus to dispose the crowds properly for a receptive acceptance of the eternal truths He came to profess. He accomplished this task first by reaching out to all who were hurting and then by ministering to their particular needs.
Jesus did this even before calling His first disciples to follow Him, and this was quite intentional. Note from last weekend’s Gospel how well disposed Peter and his brother Andrew were toward Jesus when He said, “Come after me.” St. Matthew reported, “At once they left their nets and followed him.” Equally striking was the sacrifice that James and John were ready to make: “Immediately they left their boat and their father and followed him.” The urgent and radical nature of their response was dependent upon the reputation that Jesus had already established well beforehand.
We have much to learn not only from what Jesus did in His ministry and outreach, but also from when and why He did it. His timing was always purposeful. He reached out to the flock in the ministry of healing so as to predispose the sheep to recognize and heed His voice, most especially as a safeguard against the deceptive voices of the “wolves” who would be constantly on the prowl to lead one astray, making it vulnerable to an attack and a kill. Yes, Jesus got the people’s attention by exercising love and mercy before He began to teach them about entering the Kingdom of God.
In our day and age, many have become ill-disposed to hearing, learning and following the ways of the Lord. We would do well to take a page out of Jesus’ instruction manual, the Bible, and imitate His “M.O.” (modus operandi, or method of operation). Before asking folks to do something for Him, He did something for them. We need to do the same by being responsive to the needs of others before expecting them to respond to our invitations to follow the Commandments better or to be more obedient to the moral laws of the Church. This M.O. is also effective--perhaps even essential--in garnering respect and obedience from children.
Our own ministry and outreach can take many forms. Catholics have the advantage of being part of a Church that provides many opportunities to serve others through its own institutions and their outreach ministries, such as: Catholic Social Services, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Knights of Columbus and Legion of Mary, among others. We also know that we need to tend to particular needs of specific individuals in order to help make them better disposed to receive spiritual advice and direction.
All of what we do in terms of ministry and outreach--be it general or specific--forms us as evangelizers and readies others to hear and accept the saving Gospel message that Jesus came to proclaim. It is incumbent upon us as disciples to take that flame of faith that burns in our hearts and to carry it to the ends of the earth, beginning, of course, in our own back yards!
