Sent

 

In the sixth chapter of the Gospel according to Mark Jesus calls the Twelve and sends them out two by two. The Greek word for "send" is the source of our word "apostle." Jesus trusts the Apostles to do what he does. This is remarkable in this Gospel because Mark throughout presents the Apostles as pretty dim-witted. They never seem to understand what Jesus is all about.
Everyone who follows Jesus, no matter how inept they may be, is sent. Many of us grew up in a Church where we counted on the priests and the sisters to do whatever work the Church had to do. We didn't think of ourselves as "sent." We saw ourselves as recipients of the service that the priests and sisters provided. One of the good results of the priest and religious shortage is the realization that lay people are also sent to carry on the work of Jesus. When we leave Mass we are not "done." Jesus sends us out to tell others about him.
The reason for belonging to church and going to church is not just that I might be saved. I belong to the Church for the sake of others. Charles Peguy, a French thinker, said,
"We must be saved together.
We must come to God together.
Together we must all return to God's home.
What would God say if some of us came without the others?