Reflecting on the relationship between a messenger and tradition is pertinent to the current state of missionary work. Mark 6:7-13 describes the Lord sending his apostles to bear witness. The essence of being “One Sent”, a messenger, embodies deep-rooted faith, tradition, and a clear sense of purpose and direction. The true might of the messengers’ mission emanated from the unwavering authority of the One who commissioned them.
God’s Messengers
When commissioned and sent on a mission, we act as vessels for a greater cause. We are the messengers, not the proprietors of the mission’s tasks. A successful endeavor is irrevocably tied to our bond with the originator of our mission. We have the authority to exercise the mission only because the one who sends gives us such grace. He does so generously, too.
The lavish grace for the mission can get in our head. We might begin to forget we aren’t the source of what we enjoy. To prevent this from happening, it’s crucial to adhere to certain guidelines.
The guidelines help protect us from recklessly exposing ourselves to forces contending against our mission. While the boundaries may seem restrictive, they provide guardrails as we navigate life’s challenges and triumphs. They make things much more manageable and lay the groundwork for our success in the mission.
They also remind us that our strength or abilities alone will not guarantee success. The fulfillment of our mission depends on surrendering to the One who sends us. After all, our abilities have their limits and cannot take us all the way. The journey is more challenging than what we can handle alone, and the battles we face are beyond our imagination or capabilities; we battle against principalities and powers in the highest places (Ephesians 6:12).
The Necessity of Ecclesiastical Governance
It’s easy to question the necessity of ecclesiastical governance, viewing it as a constrictive bureaucracy that suffocates free will and stands in the way of the Spirit’s reign. Why should protocols and regulations restrict a minister or any person of faith? Is God not omnipresent, and should the Spirit guidance in the life of each person not transcend all human-made structures?
I get it. I regularly seek the bishop’s letters to speak in any church or faith group I minister to, provided the mission is public. Some Catholic public speakers get uncomfortable with asking for letters of this kind and similar kinds of structures. A recognition that ecclesial mandate kept the history they enjoy today is necessary. Standing on the shoulders of a long-standing tradition is a safer bait.
Tearing down tradition is easier than building one. In principle, teenagers see through the short-term prism, and tradition might seem irrational to them. But adults understand life is more like chaotic trial and error without tradition.
Does this mean that we do not allow freshness in? Asking this sort of question, to me, is like asking the wrong question. The question suggests that tradition and freshness don’t coexist. They do.
In bearing witness to Christ, however, these deliberations overlook a crucial element—that one is never self-appointed but sent. Divine guidance often cascades through a hierarchical structure, necessary to steer the community’s faith and secure the mission’s permanence. Communion is needed for commissioning, and commissioning bears much fruit if it stands on the shoulders of the one who sends—Christ.
What about the Self-Anointed?
Imagine a world where each messenger self-proclaims their version of the gospel, distorting the divine message into a cacophony of individual interpretations. Such an imaginary world isn’t that farfetched. We can peek at pastors and preachers who become their self-acclaimed authorities in God’s Word. Such chaos would breed confusion and contradiction, alien to the harmonious Spirit meant to underscore every pure mission.
Tradition, then, is not a mere relic of times past, but like an aqueduct through which the wisdom of our predecessors flows, nurturing and guiding each generation. It’s fresh because the aqueduct of wisdom is renewed daily by the Spirit of the one who sends us. It is ancient because within it are seeds that have grown from generations past, whose fruits and foliage nourish many. The apostolic office is a testament to this, ensuring the creed’s unadulterated essence is preserved and lived.
Messenger With Zeal and Passion
I offer prayers for unwavering consciousness of the mission—a mission we must undertake with zeal and a profound sense of duty, always acknowledging that we are but envoys of a higher calling. Let us, as believers and messengers, draw from the wellspring of authority vested in us by the One who calls us, keeping steadfast in our passion to be witnesses of his love, grace, and life in a wounded world.
This word stands eternally true: the gates of the netherworld will not prevail (Matthew 16:18), and the Lord’s word is “right and true” (Psalm 33:4). Eternally so.
[Thursday Week 4: 1 Kgs 2:1-4, 10-12; Mk 6:7-13]
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