Is Christ meant to be privatized or shared? What comes first: the act of sharing, which helps one share everything, including Christ, or knowing Christ and then learning to share Him?
Today’s gospel shows how a group of people tried to keep Jesus to themselves. They saw the treasure that Jesus is—He cured all the sick brought to Him, including some who were tormented by demons. Imagine how it sounds to say that a particular town tried to prevent Jesus from leaving; they wanted to keep Him to themselves. The Lord always has a response to everything.
Jesus reminded them that He must go to other towns to preach the good news of God’s Kingdom because this was the purpose for which He came (Matt 4:43). The Lord’s purpose can be split into two—proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom of God and ensuring that every town receives the good news. It is not enough to have received the message of salvation. There is a follow-up: what do I do with it? Live it. Share it.
The Good News
Bringing the good news of salvation to every person is a heavenly mission entrusted to the world because it is God’s will that everyone should be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Tim 2:4). Hence, it is not a mission merely reserved for some people—the ordained ministers and people of consecrated life. The mission is to be carried out by everyone who has Jesus in their lives. As Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb 13:8), He continues to heal wherever He comes and is given permission; the Lord continues to lay hands on any who would submit to His Lordship, and He continues to preach and save people into the Kingdom of God.
Just as a particular town wanted to keep Jesus to themselves, many people today have privatized Christ. We know how hard it is to preach the gospel outside of our comfort areas. To break free from these limits, we first need to let Jesus into the areas of our lives where we struggle most. The more we cooperate with Jesus as He begins to deal with the most challenging areas of our lives, the more courageous we become to bring Him to the ends of the earth.
Selflessness
The person of Christ embodies selflessness. When a soul is totally liberated, it is also liberated from focusing solely on oneself and primary needs. The soul begins to pour out oneself for the Kingdom of God. It is not learned. It is a result of saving grace received through the indwelling of the Christ.
Lord, help us open our hearts wide to receive you, so we may let you bring the good news through us to the other towns as well.
