As I’m sure you realize, we usually have a missionary assigned to our parish to promote the missions for Mission Sunday. The archdiocesan Mission Office had assigned us a priest several months ago. Earlier this week, however, we learned from his religious community that he would not be available. I called the Mission Office immediately to see if another missionary could come. Michelle, the office’s assistant director, explained that, unfortunately, there was an increasing shortage of missionaries and none was available this weekend. “Of course, Msgr. Brouwers,” she continued, “we know, with your background, that you can do a great job promoting the missions.” As you may know, I had been the director of that office in one of my previous assignments and the missionary aspect of our Church continues to be very dear to me.
As we celebrate Mission Sunday today, we are experiencing the universal mission of the Church in a very real way right here in our parish with Fr. Kien, a priest from Vietnam, and Deacon David from China, in our midst. They both come from missionary countries and, as they are studying at Villanova University in order to better serve their people back home, they are acting as missionaries, ministering among us here in our parish. I’m very grateful for their assistance; I’m sure you are, too. We have been without another priest in residence ever since Msgr. Beach was reassigned in June of 2023 to become the parochial administrator of St. Matthias parish. At that time, I contacted the archdiocesan clergy office to ask if there were any priests – even a retired or senior priest – to be assigned to us. As I suspected, there were none. This past spring, when I learned that Fr. Scott Reilly was being transferred to Atlanta, Georgia, I called the clergy office again and received the same response. Providentially, Fr. Kien contacted me looking for a place to stay as he prepared to begin his studies at Villanova and I was grateful to God for this. Although Deacon David and Fr. Kien may be a little hard to understand as they struggle to learn our very difficult English language, their love of God and eagerness to serve us is evident to us all.
The Church has always been missionary. Jesus’ last command to his disciples was to go to the ends of the earth and proclaim the gospel to all creation. It has done so throughout these 2,000 years and we are the grateful beneficiaries today. And, from the beginning, more established and stronger communities of faith have supported those who were just beginning or were struggling in one way or another. St. Paul writes about this in several of his letters that date to just a few decades after Christ’s death. And, the reason the Church spreads the gospel so eagerly is because it is the gospel – the good news – of our salvation, a message we want everyone to hear it. Today’s readings give us a good example of the good news we have received.
In today’s readings, we listen again to how God has made us and how he calls husband and wife to live in faithful love for one another. After all, we are made in the image and likeness of God most clearly as man and woman. Just as God created us in love so he calls husband and wife to be that clear sign of his life-giving love. And, just as God loves us unconditionally, so he calls husband and wife to love each other in good times and in bad, for better or worse.
Our first reading from the Book of Genesis reveals the meaning of the marriage bond in a remarkable way. After he creates man, God says, “It is not good for the man to be alone.” In saying this, God reveals some fundamental truths about God – and us. We believe in God, who is a life-giving, loving communion of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And, he wants what’s good for us. Made in the image and likeness of God, we are, by our very nature, drawn into relationships with one another so that we, too, can be part of a loving community. And, the strongest relationships we have are usually in our family, which is founded on the loving relationship of husband and wife. So, God makes a suitable partner for the man. And notice, it’s not from the dust of the earth, as he has done for man and the rest of creation, but from the man’s side to demonstrate that man and woman are equal. And, in a profoundly nuptial scene, God presents her to him like the father of the bride, and Adam responds with amazement and joy!
And, just as God’s love is unconditional and his commitment to care for us is unwavering – he wants only what’s good for us – so man and woman are called to commit themselves to each other in unconditional love, wanting only what’s good for the other. When we hear the Pharisees ask Jesus in today’s Gospel passage if it is lawful for a husband to divorce his wife, we hear Jesus call them back to God’s plan from the beginning: “what God has joined together, no human being must separate.” Now, Jesus recognizes that this is a hard teaching to follow. In Matthew’s version of this same teaching, we hear Jesus say, “not all can accept this word, but only those to whom it is granted.”
Fortunately, Jesus has granted us the ability to accept his word, if only we follow his way of self-sacrificing love and we put our trust in God. As we hear in today’s second reading, Jesus was made perfect through suffering; so are we. And, just as the Spirit of God supported Jesus in his times of temptation and weakness, God’s Spirit will support us. All we need to do is turn to God – as Jesus did.
As we celebrate Mission Sunday today, let us rededicate ourselves to be missionaries, wherever we find ourselves in life. Let us strive to be the image and likeness of God and his love for all to see so that we can lead others to the eternal wedding banquet that God, our loving Father, has prepared for us in heaven.