God tells Jeremiah in the first reading today that before he was born, God had chosen him for the mission proclaiming God Word and presence to everyone else. God also promises to protect Jeremiah during that mission. In a similar way in the Gospel, Jesus sends his disciples out in mission to announce the joy of Jesus’ presence.
Jesus sends them out on mission after being with them a very short time. He doesn’t wait for them to study Christian life for a long time. Nor does he wait for them to have a big plan. He doesn’t wait for them to have their transportation all set up. He just sends them out. He tells them that the message is to be central in their lives on the mission road. He sends them out on the road with no luggage, no walking stick, no food, no money, and no extra clothes. He says once they arrive in a town they should not change from house to house looking for better food or better beds or spending time gossiping in different houses. All those things seem important to us, and we tend to spend more time worrying about them. All those things can even become the center of our lives. And when they become the center of our lives, we forget about being on mission and proclaiming the joy of Christian life.
It doesn’t matter how old you are or where you are or what you are doing or why you are there. It doesn’t matter how much stuff you have. What does matter is that we are all sent on a mission to share our Christian faith with everyone around us. Being on mission is living with the joy of knowing that God is always with us and always provides what we need.
Being Christian means being chosen for a special mission. All of us as Christians share in the mission that Jeremiah and the first disciples received. We live on the road sharing our faith and joy.
Then he sent them to tell about God’s kingdom
and to heal the sick.
Image: CANVA CJ Dunn 19 September 2026 AI Generated.