Divine Mission and Human Agents!

Wednesday, September 24, 2025

Ez 9:5-9; Lk 9:1-6

Today’s Gospel highlights the proclamation of the Kingdom through preaching and healing. 

The Gospel text reads that Jesus gave his apostles power and authority, and they proclaimed the Good News and healed people everywhere. 

In effect, the above verses underscore two insights: that there is God’s Kingdom already present in the person of Jesus Christ and the effective way in which the message of the Kingdom can be conveyed is through ‘powerful words that accompany deeds.’

Jesus and the Kingdom: Jesus was the personification of God’s Kingdom, and he demonstrated the nature of the Kingdom through his tireless preaching and healing ministry. In Luke 7:16, we find people exclaiming that ‘God has visited His people.’ Through his life and works, Jesus announced the mighty and powerful presence of God in their midst. In fact, the statement that ‘Jesus went about doing good’ (Acts 10:38) is a perfect summary of the legacy of Jesus. 

Apostles and the Kingdom: When the apostles are sent into mission, the twelve are empowered to replicate Jesus’ missionary spirit. They are successful in their missionary endeavors because Jesus willingly shares his authority with them. The Gospel text is a prefiguration of what Jesus’ disciples would do when he departs the world. Announcing the Good News is effectively done through healing that accompanies preaching. 

Thus, Jesus not only represented God’s Kingdom in person but also wanted his disciples to do the same. In delegating his mission to his apostles, disciples, and his Church, Jesus wanted to put in place a perfect continuity in doing God’s mission after him.

How faithful are we in continuing Jesus’ work of preaching and healing? How best can we represent the Kingdom of God in our lives?

Let us pray that we may be the faithful human agents of God’s Kingdom as Jesus wanted us to be.

Fr. Dhinakaran Savariyar