Whom Shall I Send? ‘Here I am Lord!’ becomes the exact
and most applicable answer to this reflective question. Each one is called to
be a missionary in his/her own way. The same question is addressed to every
Christian and religious by our Lord himself, as God invited prophet Jeremiah in
his younger age, to be a prophet to the nation. Jeremiah said, “Truly I do not
know how to speak, for I am only a boy.” But the Lord said to him, “Do not say,
‘I am only a boy’ for you shall go to all, to whom I send you and you shall
speak whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to
deliver you.” Every religious in a very special way is called to for this important
mission in life.
When
this question is addressed to each one of us, what will be our response? ‘Here
I am or Here I am not.’ God has specially created us in his own image and
likeness in order to accomplish a particular mission in the Universe. Himself
being ‘the true way’ he asks “Whom Shall I send?” - because he wants to
accompany us in all our endeavors and undertakings. For instance, He sent his
only beloved Son Jesus Christ to this world to bring salvation to the people and
to redeem them from sin and darkness. During Jesus’ mission the spirit of the
Lord was always with him. Similarly, when we courageously say ‘Send me Lord
wherever you want’ he will not abandon us instead he will be with us completely
to strengthen us, to direct us and to accomplish his mission in us.
All
of us are called to be missionaries. Are we bold enough to triumph before the
Lord and say “Here I am Lord”? We may give numerous reasons to be away from
this mission work. We need to realize not the struggles and sufferings of
mission life, but the fruit of this marvelous and awe-inspiring work. We will
experience the sweetness and taste of the work if we have passion and love for
God’s work. Although the prophets in the Old Testament like Jonah, Jeremiah and
others gave certain excuses denying God’s invitation, He did not leave them in
their own way; rather he went behind them and caught hold of them firmly for
his mission. When God chooses anyone, there is no possibility to escape his
watchful eyes until the work is done.
We must be faithful and be daring to respond to God’s
calling to be missionaries and to reach out to the ends of the earth. Are we ready
to say ‘Yes’, to the Lord no matter how weak, less talented, incapable we may
be? It is God, who gives everything to us. He knows what, when and to whom. He wants
us to do His mission work not ours.
Therefore let us beseech the Master of the harvest to sow
the seed of Mission in us that we may volunteer for His work in the mission
lands. Let the Spirit of each missionary inspire us too. Finally let us carry the
light of Christ to dispel the darkness amidst of the hearts of many in grave
need.
Cl. Arockia Berdouil SDB
No comments:
Post a Comment