Gospel Reflection for Sunday July 14th 2024 – 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time

By Fr Brian Maher OMI

Gospel Reflection for Sunday July 14th 2024, 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time | Mark 6:7–13

If a person wants to be noticed and taken seriously, for instance during an election campaign or festival of some kind, they will produce colourful signs and brochures, a large stage with an eye-attracting backdrop, make sure lighting and sound are perfect and maybe organise something spectacular, like fireworks, to start and finish. Then they will dress formally if the occasion suits it, or flamboyantly if a bright informality is required, or even shockingly if attention-seeking is paramount.

What they will not do is say nothing to anybody, sneak into the area quietly and unnoticed, dress so as to attract as little attention as possible, depend on the goodwill of others to eat, drink and sleep while they are there, and leave if there is any indication that their message is unwanted.

Yet, this is exactly what Jesus did when he sent his twelve apostles out to spread his message of forgiveness, healing and compassion. Either he had no sense or occasion, extremely poor PR advice or a totally different set of priorities! 

No sense of occasion: Jesus lived in the Roman Empire which had a wonderful sense of occasion. They did spectacle brilliantly– flags, parades, colour, trumpets fanfares, shining armour, dazzling clothes, food, wine, attractions and games which even included fights to the death. How exciting!! Jesus must have noted how spectacle attracts people.

Poor PR advice: Jesus did seem to know what PR was all about. Riding into Jerusalem on a donkey with people laying their cloaks and palm branches on the ground, singing and shouting ‘King of the Jews’ as he passed, was a useful PR exercise. Even driving the money lenders and sellers out of the Temple forecourt and knocking over their tables showed a flare for grabbing attention which bordered on the shockingly brilliant.

Different set of priorities: the only conclusion we can draw, I think, is that when Jesus sent the apostles out two by two, he did so deliberately and thoughtfully.

So why exactly did Jesus send them out with such strange instructions? We can never know with any degree of certainty why he acted as he did, but looking at his life and message in its entirety we can, I think, find some clues as to his priorities and motivation.

Every human person has a unique personality. Some of it we bring into the world with so, inherited from our parents. The rest is shaped by our life experiences as we grow and mature. Psychologists call it ‘nurture and culture’ and argue about which is more important in shaping the person we are. In our modern world personality typing has become an essential tool in business, with Myers Briggs, the Enneagram, and hundreds of other personality ‘tests’ vying for attention.

Jesus, too, had a personality – something we may not often realise. Part of his personality was brought into the world with him, in his DNA, which of course leads us to a wall we can never breach. The mystery of the Incarnation (God becoming man) is beyond our understanding. This aspect of Jesus’ personality will always be beyond us.

However, as Jesus grew up in the home of Mary and Joseph he learned, as we all do, the skills necessary to live, love, be healthy and happy. The interactions he had with his peers in Nazareth, his family grouping, his friends, and all the myriads of experiences he had – both positive and negative – formed him into the person who presented himself to John the Baptist in the River Jordan at about the age of thirty.

It is so easy to forget that Jesus had a personality. Yet, if we want to come close to him – to form a relationship with him – we must reflect on his personality. By that I don’t mean a kind of psycho-analysis of his deepest desires, motivations and needs, but just a quiet reflection on the person we would see and hear if we met, or even observed, him.

Was he, for instance, brash or shy? Was he impetuous or measured? Was he energy-filled or reflective? Was he an extrovert or an introvert? Did he smile? Had he a sense of humour? Was he stubborn? Was he conservative or liberal? The list could go on and on.

Needless to say, we can never know for sure what Jesus was like as a person but it is a reflection that is both interesting and important if we want to “enter into a renewed personal encounter with the person of Jesus.” (Pope Frances, EG3)

Our images of Jesus will be personal ones, shaped by our own personalities, DNA and life experiences. That, however, does not invalidate them, so long as we can support what we say from the Gospels. We do not create an image of Jesus’ personality purely from our imaginations, nor do we create a Jesus we would like to see. What we say must have its starting point in the Gospels and must remain in the Gospels.

By way of example, let me share very briefly something of the Jesus I am coming to know.

Firstly, I imagine Jesus to be a quiet, possibly even a shy person. I wonder sometimes if he was a reluctant Messiah, driven by a Mission he could not avoid, yet, in his quiet moments, longing to be nothing more than a village carpenter like Joseph.

Why do I think this? Because during Jesus’ entire ministry he avoided large town and cities where he could have spoken to much larger crowds, and preferred the small, intimate settings of villages and towns where he could interact at a more personal level with people. Likewise, his healings tended to be personal – almost always involved both talking to and touching the person he was healing.

Jesus always seems to be at his most relaxed when he is sitting at table, in discussion with friends and even adversaries. So much of his most important teaching takes place in this context. Smaller, more informal and intimate spaces are where he is comfortable.

While I imagine him a quiet and maybe shy person, I also see him as friendly, smiling and even-tempered. We know children came to him. An angry, frowning, dour person will have children hiding behind their mothers skirts, not running towards him, having to be shooed away by his apostles!

So…quiet, maybe a little shy. Possibly a reluctant Messiah, yet with a clear awareness that he has been called by God. More comfortable in small, relaxed settings – like meals – rather than large, public settings. A friendly, smiling, even-tempered man.

Another example: Hypocrisy, in all of its guises, was the thing which truly angered Jesus. Time and time again his confrontations and angry words were aimed at those he considered hypocrites.

Clearly, growing up, he learned from Mary and Joseph the values of sincerity, honesty and authenticity. His own interactions with people were always genuine and personal. Integrity was at the heart of who he was.

We often forget that Jesus’ own religious beliefs were very close to those of the Pharisees. At one point he told his listeners, “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. You must therefore obey them and do everything they tell you….” (Matthew 23:3a)

However, it was his conclusion of the sentence which showed his abhorrence of hypocrisy – “…but do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. (Matthew 23:3b).

For Jesus, hypocrisy has absolutely no place in the coming Kingdom of God. The values of integrity, sincerity and authenticity can never be compromised.

So, I meet a Jesus who intensely dislikes hypocrisy and sees that above all else hypocrisy has no place in the Kingdom of God. His own relationships were based on integrity, sincerity and authenticity

Even though he condemned the hypocrisy of the Pharisees he was not blinded to other positive aspects of their calling.

Now, If I take these two examples and bring them to this week’s Gospel I find the rather strange instructions Jesus gave his apostles make perfect sense.

As a quiet, slightly shy man himself, it is understandable that he would prefer his apostles to travel in a non-pretentious way, calling attention to the message they bring rather than the person who brings it. The “carry a staff” and “wear sandals” because the message of the Kingdom of God is urgent and they are in a hurry to share it. They bring nothing else because Jesus does not want anything to distract from the message.

Their must be no taint of hypocrisy in what they say and do. Any appearance of wealth, power, influence or pride will weaken the message and this must not be allowed to happen. Therefore, the instruction to bring “…no bread, no bag, no money in your belts… no extra shirt…”

This might seem an exaggeration to us and probably there is some hyperbole present, but the single-minded power of what Jesus wants remains – “preach the Kingdom of God and nothing else. Be sincere, gentle and authentic in everything you say and do. Do not fight or argue with people; you carry an invitation and not a command. If people do not accept you then leave them. The Kingdom of God is always offered freely.”

When the apostles returned to Jesus, filled with joy that their message was accepted and many were healed as a result, Jesus may have thanked God in prayer, saying something like, “I sent them out with nothing except the message that the Kingdom of God is very close. Despite the poverty and humility of their dress and situation you worked powerfully through them. Now I know that your Kingdom is for the poor, humble, gentle and ordinary, and that you have called me to reveal that Kingdom.

And it’s true! The Kingdom of God is very close. In fact, it is among us now!

Many thanks,

Brian.

If you have any comments, questions or thoughts on this scripture reflection, please feel welcome to email me at b.maher@oblates.ie