Baby Steps

YEAR 2, PROPER 9 (14TH WEEK OF ORDINARY TIME), THURSDAY, MASS:
PSALM 80:1-7, HOSEA 11:1-9; MATTHEW 10:7-15

Our Gospel today is part of a larger section of what it means to be an apostle (someone who is sent out by Christ to proclaim the good news of God's salvation). yesterday, Jesus sent out the Twelve Apostles two-by-two and gave them specific instructions about who to preach to and who not to preach to. They were only to go to the people of Israel, not to any foriegners or people who were different from them. Today, more instructions are added. They are told what to bring and what not to bring. They are told not to waste their time on people who won't listen to them, but to move on and only spread the word to those who will listen.

I think that it is very important to note that this is the first time Jesus sends out the Apostles, but it is not the last. Saint Matthew's Gospel ends with the great commission, when all of the disciples are sent out to every person and all nations. In the Acts of the Apostles, we see how this plays out. Saint Peter and Saint Philip not only preach to but convert foriegners. Saint Paul does not give up when people do not listen to him and often returns to places that he has been persecuted in. The restrictions have been removed. Why?

I think an example from life at Saint Mary's may be helpful. Three years ago we had a Nursery that was open some Sundays. It was located in a small room without windows. It was far from ideal. My sister visited the church one Sunday with her two children and told me that she would not come to this church because we didn't have a nursery open the Sunday she visited. To address this need, we moved the mursery to a larger space and did what we could to make sure it was open most Sundays. I'm happy to say that today I hired a professional child care worker who will run our Nursery every Sunday and on a number of Feast Days. The result has been that we have more and more children her each Sunday. Three years ago, it would not have been possible to hire someone that was a professional. It would have been too expensive, too much of a gamble. It took - pun intended - baby steps. We started small and worked our way to a situation that is ideal now. I pray that we will continue to grow soon have to hire a second professional child care worker.

Even the Apostles learned how to walk before they could run. They first learned how to preach to people who were like them and who were willing to listen, soon they were able to preach to people who were different and even patiently return to those who had rejected them the first time around. Evangelism is no different than anything in Christian life. I didn't wake up one day and start saying morning and evening prayer. I didn't wake up one morning with the ability to preach nine different sermons in a week. I started started by saying my prayers at night and taking classes on daily preaching in Seminary. Whether you are grow in your prayer life, or as someone who does lots of charty and outreach, or as someone who welcomes new people to the church; I think it is a good idea to start small and learn the basics before taking on too much.