By Msgr. Joseph Prior • Posted July 12, 2024

Niccolo Paganini, an Italian world-famous violinist from the 19th century, once walked onto the stage and picked up his violin. Immediately, he recognized that it was not his. He walked off then went back stage to find his violin. Soon he realized it was stolen and the thief left a second-hand old violin in its place. He walked back onto the stage and spoke to the audience.

After explaining the situation, he said: “Ladies and gentlemen, I will show you the music is not in the instrument, it is in the soul.” He proceeded to play and play, filling the audience with enthusiasm and joy. They broke into a rapturous applause in appreciation of not only the music but the lesson.

The readings for the liturgy this week related to the mission and the missionaries sent to carry the message. The Gospel recalls Jesus sending the Twelve out on mission. Earlier He had appointed these twelve as “apostles” – a word that literally means “one who is sent.” Now they are being sent.

This episode is a prelude to what will happen after Jesus ascends to the Father and sends forth the Spirit on Pentecost. Jesus gives his disciples some specific instructions. He tells them to bring a walking stick and sandals. They are to bring “no food, no sack, no money in their belts.”

The emphasis is on the mission. There is a certain urgency for them to go out. They are not to worry about incidentals, not even food or money. The walking staff and sandals are permitted because they will help the apostles get to the destination. In the end, they go and incredible things happen. They proclaim, they call to repentance, they cure the sick and they exorcise demons.

The Twelve were from various backgrounds. While we do not know the background of all of them, the ones for whom we do have some information seem to have been living ordinary lives, with ordinary jobs. At least four were fishermen and one was a tax collector. It does not seem like any of them had special training to be missionaries. The only thing that prepared them was being with Jesus. He called them, taught them, and formed them. They put their faith in Him and everything changed. God would use these ordinary men to carry on His mission.

The first reading recalls a similar situation with one of the prophets. The Lord calls Amos to be a prophet. He himself recalls that he has no special credentials, saying: “I was no prophet,
nor have I belonged to a company of prophets; I was a shepherd and a dresser of sycamores.”

We might ask: “What made the difference?” Perhaps the more apt question would be: “Who made the difference?” Amos tells us, saying: “The Lord took me from following the flock, and said to me, Go, prophesy to my people Israel.”

The Lord is the one who makes the difference. He chooses Amos and gives him the word to speak. Amos courageously responded “yes” to the Lord. He leaves his home, his country and goes to a foreign land (by this point in Israelite history, the Davidic kingdom was split in two different countries, with different kings, leaders and religious practices). Amos’ faith in the Lord and his response opens the path to the mission and proclamation.

St. Paul, in the song of praise from his Letter to the Ephesians (second reading), recalls God’s great benevolence and love. He fills us with His blessings. As Paul says: “he chose us in him (Jesus), before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him. In love he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ.”

God calls each one of us to participate in His divine life. In doing so, we are given a share in the mission. No matter what our background or situation in life, he is with us and fills us with His Word. He urges us to share this great gift of life with others. He invites us to invite them. For:

 

In him we were also chosen, destined in accord with the purpose of the One who accomplishes all things according to the intention of his will, so that we might exist for the praise of his glory, we who first hoped in Christ.

In him you also, who have heard the word of truth,
the gospel of your salvation, and have believed in him,
were sealed with the promised holy Spirit,
which is the first installment of our inheritance
toward redemption as God’s possession, to the praise of his glory.

Paganini said that the music came not from the instrument but from the soul. In our life as missionaries, the Word does not come from externals — it comes from within. Some of us may feel intimidated by the task. Some of us may not be comfortable with this role. Some of us may feel unqualified.

Yet all of us have been called, all have been sealed with the Spirit and all have been sent.

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Msgr. Joseph Prior is pastor of Our Lady of Grace Parish, Penndel, and a former professor of Sacred Scripture and rector of St. Charles Borromeo Seminary.