Homily Sunday 30-C World Mission Sunday

Today is World Mission Sunday. It is a yearly event, when we reflect on our call to be missionaries; (, and when we support the Church’s mission by our prayers and donations.)

The theme of this year’s World Mission Sunday is: You shall be my witnesses to the ends of the earth. These are the words Jesus spoke to his disciples before his Ascension as he prepared to send them out into the world.

You shall be my witnesses: Jesus’ words remind us what our lives as his disciples should be about: with the help of God, to be witnesses of Jesus, in every place and situation: at home, in school, at work and on the football pitch.

This means we cannot separate our religious life from our ordinary everyday life; we have only one life, and in that life, we are called to be witnesses of Jesus and his Good News.

It is striking, that when Jesus says: You shall be my witnesses, he is addressing himself to all his disciples. All his disciples, all Christians are called to be his witnesses.

You shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. Jesus spoke these words to his disciples when he was in Jerusalem. Jerusalem was the beginning and the centre of the Christian movement, the Church. From Jerusalem, the disciples were sent to the ends of the world, as it was known at that time.

In the second reading, we heard about St Paul, who is writing from prison in Rome. It means that the first disciples obeyed Jesus’ command and reached Rome within a relatively short time.

During the centuries the centre of gravity of the church has changed; Europe became the centre of gravity and it was from Europe that many missionaries, men and women, were sent to the ends of the earth, to Africa, Asia and America.

Now, the centre of gravity of the church is no longer in Europe, no longer in the North. During the last 70 years it has changed to the South. The strength and vitality of the church has moved from the North to the South.

And now, Christians in the global South also respond to the words of Jesus, you shall be my witnesses to the ends of the earth. And thus, mission has become a movement in more than one direction. While European missionaries were leaving their home countries to go to Tanzania, Brazil and India, now missionaries from those countries are coming to Europe. We witness that in our own Parish with the presence of Sylvesta and Fr Charles.

Something else exciting is happening. Regularly, Christians have to flee from their home countries and migrate because of persecution, war or economic hardship. And after arriving in the countries that welcome them, they bear witness to Christ and to the love of God. It shows that the gospel is being spread by migrants!

It is great to see the presence of people from India, Syria, Brazil and various African countries in our Parish. You enrich the face of our Parish and make us more universal, more Catholic and more missionary.

To the ends of the earth…We should not think that the ends of the earth are necessarily thousands of miles from here. At times, the ends of the earth can mean the other side of the road, or the house of a sick neighbour, or a care home around the corner.

When sending his disciples, Jesus promised them the help of the Holy Spirit: He said: You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. It was the Spirit who gave them courage, strength and wisdom to bear witness to Christ before all people.

We too need the Spirit; we too need God. We cannot do it alone. There should be no place for pride in the disciple’s heart. The Pharisee in today’s gospel was so sure of himself, that he had no need of God. We do need God in our lives.

So, we ask the Holy Spirit to help us, to be true witnesses of Jesus, in every place and situation, to the ends of the earth.