There are various passages in the Gospels where Jesus speaks or behaves in a bizarre, one could say \u2018non-evangelical\u2019 way. Cleansing of the Temple is the most distinguished of them. In today\u2019s Gospel, we can see a striking element of Jesus\u2019 commission given to the Apostles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf you enter a house anywhere, stay there until you leave the district\u201d \u2013 this is obvious. In other words, Jesus asks them to preach the Good News to those who are interested and want to become believers. However, if someone is not interested in listening to the Apostles, they should \u201cwalk away\u201d and \u201cshake off the dust from under their feet as a sign to them\u201d. But what about Christian love? What about care for the souls of those ignorant people? Jesus asks the Apostles to leave those people and give them a sign. The sign quite obvious those days, an act required to be done by Jews when they left a Gentile town. The meaning of it was that they had nothing to do with the people living in the town and their beliefs. So, the sign is not inclusive at all. Yet, Jesus asks the Apostles to do the same in the context of deliberate non-believers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That is the cost of human freedom. Jesus does not ask us to despise others. Instead, He wants to give man the freedom to accept the Gospel or to refuse it, with all the consequences. In this way, Jesus\u2019 commission should be understood more as asking the Apostles to preach and not force those who reject the Truth. We can also see a preferential option in preaching the Gospel for those who bring fruit. Human freedom precedes an act of faith. It means that, first of all, a man is free, and we should let him choose. With whole respect, with prayer, with no pressure, to accept the preaching of the Church.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We live in a secular society that rejects God and religion. The Church finds Herself in a very similar situation as some of the Apostles in numerous cases during their mission. Our mission is to preach the Good News to the world and not be worried about failures. We do our best, pray and believe in God. People have their choice. What Jesus wants to teach us today is to be balanced in our concerns, remember our own salvation and those around us, and treat the failures in evangelising others as a secondary thing. It is very important, but the primary concern should be our salvation and growing in holiness as a community. Whatever does not serve this goal should be shaken off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u0141ukasz Go\u0142\u0105b<\/strong> – Seminary of the Good Shepherd, Sydney, Australia<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fot. Max Saeling\/Unsplash.com<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":2496,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,17,18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2495","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-strona-glowna-najnowsze","category-strona-glowna-slider"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n