You Never Know

 

Thursday of the 1st Week in Advent; St. Francis Xavier

1 Cor 9: 16-19; 22-23; Mark 16: 15-20

Dc. Larry Brockman

You never know.  You never know when you have impact on people.  In St. Francis Xavier’s case, he began a mission to the Far East at the age of 46 in the year 1552.  This mission took him to India, Sri Lanka, Japan, and China.  Three centuries later, even though Christianity was brutally suppressed in Japan in all that time, the Faith was still found there.  Indeed, you just never know what effect your efforts will have.   

Now all of us are called, as part of our Baptismal promise, to evangelize in word and deed.  Our working orders are laid out in today’s Gospel.  To profess with our mouths that Jesus is Lord, and believe in our hearts that God raised Him from the dead.  And that’s how we proclaim the good news of Christ, the Gospel- by living our lives as Christians by what we say and by how we project ourselves in what we do.  Paul tells us that we are obligated to live and proclaim the Gospel. It is not something we should boast about.  It is simply our duty. 

And the great thing about that duty is that we just never know.  We never know when it will have an impact on those around us.  But you can be sure of this- others see how you act and what you do- in the grocery store; at the Christmas Party you attend; in the classroom; at the office; while you are working in the yard; in an emergency; and when you meet someone in need.  Indeed, our lives are full of opportunities to evangelize, just by being who we are, but in a Christian way.  Most of us will not have to go out and put our lives on the line in a strange land like Francis Xavier.  But all of us will be given these opportunities.  And, you just never know when you will have an impact.  But God knows, and he’s counting on you.   

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