Homily for the Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

What’s In Your Report Card?

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

Church of St. Bridget of Minneapolis, MN

Sunday, July 21, 2024

In the Gospel of last Sunday (Mark 6:7-13), Jesus sends the Twelve on their mission to announce the nearness of the kingdom. Now, they have gone out, preached, drove out demons, anointed the sick and cured their diseases. Upon returning, which is our Gospel passage for this Sunday (Mark 6:30-34), they reported all they had done and taught. They probably said something like:  “Lord, we preached about the kingdom of God and called on the people to turn away from their evil ways.” “Lord, guess what happened? At the mention of your name, the devil trembled and we expelled evil spirits.” “Lord, we took your message to virtually every village around us. We preached without fear. We urged people to accept you as their Lord and Savior. We insisted that you are the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” “Lord, some of them opposed and resisted our message and tried to stop us, but we stood firm.” “Lord, in our preaching, we emphasized that God is love, that God is merciful, that God is full of mercy and compassion. We invited people to accept his mercy, healing and goodness.” “Lord, we have made you known around here.” 

The Twelve are giving a report of their accomplishments to the Master of the harvest, that with the word of God, prodigals were saved, lives were turned around, the sick were healed, those possessed by demons were set free. After reporting “all they had done and taught,” Jesus says to them, “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” He recognized their weariness and offered them time to rest and recuperate. Why? Because the human person is not a machine that goes on and on. To rest after work has divine approval. More to it, the Twelve accomplished so well the assignment given to them by the Lord. Their report card is a very good one. 

Sisters and brothers, like the Twelve, Jesus too has given us a mission and an assignment to do while we still have life. Do you know what your assignment is? Are you carrying it out steadfastly and joyfully? What role are you playing in the spreading of the Kingdom of God? Are you building up or tearing down? When the Lord calls, what kind of report are you going to give? At the end of that report, do you think Jesus is going to offer you the invitation to come over with him and rest everlastingly? What’s in your report card? 

Check this out! Good or bad report, there’ll surely be a reward!

God bless you!