Gospel Mk 16:15-20
Jesus appeared to the Eleven and said to them: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned. These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages. They will pick up serpents with their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them. They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
Then the Lord Jesus, after he spoke to them, was taken up into heaven and took his seat at the right hand of God. But they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word through accompanying signs.
REFLECTION:
“But they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word through accompanying signs.”
Most people love flowers and enjoy the exquisite beauty of the blossoms. I knew a lady who had a great love for flowers and planted many of them in her yard. She had a green-thumb and always took the time to admire them, especially in the spring. She lived a very simple life of working on a farm and raising her family. She never finished school, never traveled far and in the opinion of the world, like most of us, she was a “nobody”.
She spent her life concerned with what God gave her at home. She took in a close relative of her husband as soon as they married because this relative was not able to live on his own. For most of her married life, she cared for him until the day he died. She loved God and did exactly what He instructed, go forth and preach. She preached daily by the bread she baked, by the clothes she washed and by the crops she helped to tend. And in her gentle way, she allowed Jesus to work with her as she “preached”.
Our hearts were broken the day she died, but I took great solace in how God changed her appearance on her deathbed. All of her weathered skin from the years spent farming was smooth and free of wrinkles. Everyone who came to her wake was surprised to see how young she looked. I remember her daughter telling me of the flowers placed at her grave. The flower arrangement was taken from the funeral and sent to the grave site. Even though the flowers sat on a wire stand, they stayed fresh for six weeks without any care or added nutrients necessary for life. I know the Lord worked with her by how she loved others, but these little miracles are the accompanying signs that confirm how the Lord worked along-side her.
The Lord gave his disciples their commission and all of His works are miraculous. During this pandemic, our mobility has been altered so that we can concentrate on working with our Lord. God’s plan for each of us is different, so in our preaching we will experience unique miracles that will bring us closer to Him. Maybe one day we can look back at our time spent at home and see how we have preached with the Lord and witnessed his accompanying signs.
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