We have a
very short Gospel reading today, but it’s very rich and vivid in its
imagery. I can imagine Jesus and this
ragtag group of disciples and other followers going from village to village as
he cures the sick and expels demons.
Yet, he does this not as magic tricks or to earn a living, but rather a
signs of God’s kingdom. How would we
react if such a group entered our own village this week? Would they touch our lives of faith with this
message, or would we be suspicious and skeptical?
St. Cyprian is the saint whose memorial
we celebrate today. Cyprian died in the
middle of the third century. Just as we
heard about the way Jesus and the disciples proclaimed God’s kingdom to ancient
Israel in today’s Gospel reading, we learn about the saints as a part of our
journey of faith because of the way they led lives of holiness and proclaimed
God’s kingdom in their lives. Cyprian
did not convert to the Way of Jesus until he was an adult, and he was selected
as Bishop of Carthage in northern Africa against his own personal desires. The early Church in northern African had its
great struggles with paganism and idol worship still being popular even amongst
converted Christians. Cyprian died for
the faith, but his witness still speaks out to us today in the way he
proclaimed God’s kingdom. Cyprian worked tirelessly for unity in our faith, as
he once said: “He cannot have God for his father who has not the
church for his mother.”
We each have a calling from God in
which we are to live out our faith in proclamation of his kingdom. May we discern that calling, and live it out
with the zeal and courage that Cyprian and the other saints displayed.
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