Tuesday, I visited
a manufacturing plant in Shreveport. The plant manager told that he is from NW
Ohio; so, being curious, I asked how he got to Shreveport.
He said for 20
years he worked for a large company. His employer was opening plants in Russia
and wanted him to get the plants started.
He refused to go
so the company dismissed him (fired). Six years ago, he wound up in Shreveport.
As he told this
story, we walked by a thermometer that read 80 degrees. He stopped, took a
picture, and texted his daughter in NW Ohio. There, it was 5 degrees. This time
of year in Moscow, Russia, temperatures average 19 degrees. That’s cold.
He thanks God for
Shreveport.
Combine his story
with the readings and I am reminded me of something from Deacon Formation that after
the Eucharist, dismissal is a most important part of mass.
“Mass” means the
dismissal.
- · Go in Peace.
- · Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord.
- · Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life.
- · Go forth, the Mass is ended.
I use an older
version, Go in peace to love and serve the LORD.
These words are
more than just saying “it’s time to go.” They are a call to mission. Take the
Eucharistic in us, the Christ in us and live as an imitation of Christ in the
world.
Do we or are we like
Isaiah, Paul, and Peter and feel we are not worthy?
Isaiah -"Woe is
me, I am doomed! I am a man of unclean lips, living among a people of unclean
lips….
Paul -I am the least
of the apostles, not fit to be called an apostle…..
Peter -Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.
Our words are
similar before we receive Christ, repeating the words of the Roman centurion: “Lord I am not
worthy that you should enter under my roof….”
This
unworthiness is not about shame. It’s easy to mistake the two. Unbelievers do.
True believers
are not ashamed of God, faith, or what we believe. Feelings of unworthiness
come from a realization of our insignificance after we experience God.
Isaiah, Paul,
Peter and each of us compare who we are and what we are to the God experience. Coming
to mass, drawing closer to God, and partaking in the body of Christ is
experiencing God in a way that allows us to understand we are far less than
God.
To experience God
is peace, forgiveness, and joy. Nowhere is shame.
Prophets,
apostles, and true believers wonder how we could ever be worthy to bring the experience
of God to His creation. All the earth is filled with His glory. We realize this,
are afraid and feel unworthy.
Jesus said, "Do not be afraid.” God’s grace allows us to
know the limits of our humanity, St. Paul said, I am what I am.
In spite of our
limits, God’s
grace is not ineffective. God’s grace is upon wicked and sinful people
like Isaiah, Paul, Peter, and us. God’s grace makes us worthy.
The Lord asks "Whom
shall I send? “ Friends, answer, "Here I am Lord, send me!"
Bring what you have;
all Peter had was a boat and fishing net. What we bring may not be fancy but God’s
grace is enough.
After, that
meeting in Shreveport, several people went to lunch. The manager bowed his head
and asked blessing, a simple powerful message.
So, at the end
of mass when the Deacon or Priests says the words of dismissal:
- · Go in Peace.
- · Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord.
- · Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life.
- · Go forth, the Mass is ended. Or even
- · Go in peace to love and serve the LORD.
Remember each of
us is sent out like the prophets, apostles, and all the great witnesses of God.
Dismissed, we
are sent to do great things.
We answer, “Thanks be to God.”
Be good, be
holy, and go and announce the Gospel of the Lord by the way you live your life
and love one another. Amen.
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