11th SUNDAY OF THE YEAR
‘He summoned His twelve disciples’
This is a moment of transition in the Gospel
of Matthew. The focus has shifted from the
ministry of Jesus to the work of the community
which He has inaugurated. The pillars of this
fledgling community are to be ordinary people.
The work of evangelization will take place
in everyday events and places at home, in the
parish, in the workplace, on the sportsfield.
With that in mind and with the decreasing
number of priests in this corner of the vineyard a
space is being created for the development of the
priesthood of all believers. A missionary Church
cannot rely on the professional ministry for the
primary work of mission. It is the lay faithful
who have the greatest contact with those who
are outside the normal structures of Church life.
They are to be a leaven of Christian living in
society. They are not ‘guests’ in the Church. The
Church of the future will be a synodal Church
or not at all. Lay and clerical, we walk together
in the footsteps of the Apostles. We, like them,
are common people with an uncommon calling.
Let us dare to dream.