We all enter into the mission of Jesus

January 27, 2008 -- Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

By Bishop Robert Morneau

	Bishop Robert Morneau
	Questions for reflection: 1. What is your mission in life? 2. Look at your driver's license. Is that who you are? 3. What is the particular work God has assigned to you?

The question of Catholic identity and mission continues to be a major concern for the Church at large as well as for particular institutions such as Catholic hospitals and universities. Two fundamental questions keep surfacing: who are we? And what is our purpose? Until these questions are clarified, confusion reigns. In the past several years, many of our dioceses and parishes have spent considerable time attempting to write out a mission statement that gives meaning and purpose to ministry.

The identity/mission crisis is not new. Every age and every generation must deal with these matters. In today's Gospel, a mission statement is given for the followers of Jesus. Disciples are to continue the Lord's work: teach, proclaim, cure and care. We witness Jesus teaching in the synagogues and on the mountain sides; we witness Jesus proclaiming that the kingdom of God is at hand; we witness Jesus healing diseases and caring for the needy. What Jesus did, we are to do. Nothing very complicated about this mission.

It is interesting to note that as John the Baptist is imprisoned, the message that John was proclaiming at the Jordan and beyond - "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" - now becomes the refrain of Jesus. Since Jesus already sees the handwriting on the wall to the effect that he will be killed, Jesus prepares others to continue His work. Two sets of brothers are called and begin preparation for their apostolic work. And, of course, we are the next in line. Through baptism, confirmation, and Eucharist, all of us enter in the mission and ministry of Jesus.

St. Paul handles the identity question quite forcefully. There were rivalries with the Corinthian community, a fight over "who" belongs to whom. Paul will have none of this. The Corinthians belong to Christ and not to Apollos or Paul or Cephas. Paul would apparently phrase the identity question in terms of "whose are we" rather than "who are we?" This is not only good theology, it is excellent psychology. We get our identity in relationships, not in some abstract, individualistic autonomy. To whom do we give ourselves? The answer to this question shapes our identity.

Isaiah's identity and mission emerges in his writings. Isaiah is a prophet and spokesman of the Lord. His identity lies in his deep sense of instrumentality: he is one of God's tools. His mission seems to center around the concept of glory. His task is to get his people to see God's radiance and splendor in the entire world despite the presence of so much darkness and gloom. Isaiah calls the Israelites to notice God's presence and to respond to it with joy, praise, and thanksgiving. What a noble task he was given.

We must always go back, time and time again, to those fundamental questions: who (whose) are we? Where are we going? How do we get there? And, let us not forget the fourth one: What time is recess?

(Bishop Morneau is the auxiliary bishop of the Green Bay Diocese and pastor of Resurrection Parish in Allouez.)