The Place of Mission

Gospel: Mark 5: 1-20

After Jesus heals the man possessed by a demon, the healed man wants to follow Jesus, a natural response to be sure.  But as in so many other cases where Jesus heals someone, the man is instead instructed to go home and share with his family about the mercy God has shown to him.  The primary place of mission is right where we are in our homes.  

Each one of us has been provided the gift of God's mercy.  Imagine if each of us did what Jesus asks of everyone he healed - and we went home to share God's mercy with our families and friends, if we made our homes a place of hospitality where God's mercy is shared with everyone in need who comes our way.  Imagine if our homes were the central place of religious life through the works of mercy instead of institutions.  

The requirements Jesus places upon us are fairly simple: accept the mercy God has extended to us, and show mercy to others.  We are not to establish media empires, cottage industries of self-promotion, or political action committees.  All of these take advantage of God's mercy for personal gain and power which lead to our ruin.  Let us listen to the Lord's prompting and accept God's mercy, return home, and extend God's mercy to others in our daily lives.