Fr. Antonius Firmansyah, SJ.
World Mission Sunday, October 20 Homily
When we hear the word “missionaries,” what do recall in our mind? The second reading today answers this question by revealing the characteristic of Jesus’ mission in this world; which is to reveal the compassion of God towards us. This mission of Jesus is attached to Jesus’ life as the high priest. However, he is not called as the high priest because of his power nor his strong influence towards all people. On the contrary, the second reading mentioned the ability to have compassion as the main reason to call Jesus as the high priest. Jesus’ compassion is rooted in the fact that he is willing to be one with us in our humanity, emptying himself just to become one with us, except in the matter of sin. Can you imagine the situation of someone who is sinless, and yet able to feel the torment, the turmoil which sin can cause in everyone’s heart? This is the reality of Jesus’ compassion towards each of us.
The first reading from Isaiah provides us with a deeper background of Jesus’ compassion for us. It reveals the connection between the mission of the Father given to Jesus as a mission of having compassion for those who are suffering up to the point of suffering with them. For this mission, God the Father allowed His own Son to be crushed by the world, to bear also the guilt of sinfulness which we must bear, just so that we can taste the depth of God’ s compassion for us. This is the mission received by Jesus from the Father: the mission of compassion.
Today, in this World Mission Day we are praying together so that we can partake in this mission also. Pope Francis, using the words from Matthew 22:9 encourages us to “Go and invite everyone to the banquet. ” Like Jesus, we are missioned to guide everyone to recognize the compassion of God for the whole world through our own acts of self- giving. It is not a mission to show our powerful influence towards others. Nor the mission to boast our great number, strength, or reputation compare to other. It is a mission to be a servant of God’s compassion for everyone. This is the meaning of the word “servant” which Jesus used in the Gospel today.
Jesus was trying to teach all his disciples in the Gospel today. It was not only James and John who were being taught by Jesus. True, these two were the one who were blatantly looking for that “influential” power from Jesus. But, the other 10 disciples, through their indignancy towards James and John, revealed their rivalry and jealousy, their hidden desire for the same power of influence. It is as if they want to reveal their frustration for not being able to express outwardly that same desire to be powerfully influential as Jesus’s disciple. These two situations of James and John and the other 10 disciples somehow reminds us of the tension that we are also experiencing in our social life.
Jesus’ answer to this tension is a testimony about his own mission. He said, “the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. ” Jesus invited the twelve (all of them) purposedly just to tell them that the mission of those who want to become his disciple is a mission of becoming a servant to God’ s compassion, to guide people to God’s compassionate love by becoming one with them in their suffering. Thus, the meaning of the word “servant” here is special. It is more than just becoming somebody who is willing to be told to do something. Becoming a servant in Jesus’ context is deeply rooted in the willingness to take part in the communal mission. There is a sense of humility, equality, and also unity in its meaning. Missioned as a servant of God’ s compassion, we are participating in a communion of compassion.
In our society today we often heard the magnification of the word ʻinfluence’ . Such an interesting word. To tell you the truth, I do not really understand the connotation behind this word when it is being used in our SNS. Is it a praising word? Or, is it actually a criticism? I can’t really tell. Regardless, I believe Jesus does not want us to influence others to become like ourselves. Jesus wants us to become partakers of his mission in making this world filled with God’s compassion.
Fr. Antonius Firmansyah, SJ.