"Made For Miracles": A Reflection on The Gospel for July 15th, 2018: Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Mark 6:7-13

7 And he called to him the twelve, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. 8 He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts; 9 but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics. 10 And he said to them, "Where you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place. 11 And if any place will not receive you and they refuse to hear you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet for a testimony against them." 12 So they went out and preached that men should repent. 13 And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many that were sick and healed them.

​Like Jesus’ disciples, He calls us, as well, to be active in His mission and ministry. When we live out God’s purpose for our own lives, we leave that influence (by shaking off our own dust) in the lives of those we try to witness to.

Last weekend I had the great blessing of being a volunteer for a Catholic youth conference held in Halifax, called Steubenville Atlantic. On Sunday morning before mass, the worship leader was leading us through a prayer, calling on the Holy Spirit. As we were praying, he reminded us that God gave us the authority to do His work here on earth. What He prayed for took me aback. He prayed that miracles would be done there in that room. That is not something I have ever intentionally prayed for. He witnessed for me in that moment, that when we have pure trust and faith in God, He can work through us in any way. Even by performing miracles. We are meant to do the work of Christ daily. He calls us in individual ways, particular to our gifts from Him.

During the conference, the band played a song that really resonated with me as I thought about this Sunday’s Gospel. The bridge of the song included the words, “I am chosen, not forsaken. I am who you say I am.” (Who You Say I Am - Hillsong Worship). Like the Twelve, Jesus has given us great gifts. It is the sum of these gifts that gives us each our individual identity in God. We are who He says we are because we are chosen by Him.

Personally speaking, I have made excuses about why it isn’t necessary for me to discern what gifts God gave me. When I would think about the gifts of the Spirit, I would convince myself that I was too young to really know anything about my gifts, or more prominently, that I was not worthy of these gifts from God. I would tell myself that God would not want to work through me; that I couldn’t be who He needed me to be.

Even though, as broken human beings, we don’t nearly deserve the great love God has for us, I have realized how ignorant it was of me to doubt the work God could be doing in my life. By not seeing the importance of discerning the gifts God has for me, I was behaving impudently toward Him. When we have faith that God will work through us, He really does. He wants us to live out His mission despite our flaws, our weaknesses, and our sinful tendencies. God will never set us up for failure or disappointment when we strive to live for His mission and purpose in our lives.

​Megan Noye

"We are who He says we are because we are chosen by Him."
​- Megan Noye (Ora Reflections)