Fr. Butler's Homily for the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time, July 3, 2016, Year C
Fr. René J. Butler, M.S. La Salette Missionaries of North America Hartford, Connecticut ( Click here for today’s readings ) I have always had a problem with the portion of today’s Gospel where Jesus tells his disciples to shake or wipe from their feet the dust of the towns that do not welcome them, i.e. that did not accept the Gospel. It seems so harsh. Now this is the same Jesus who, in last Sunday’s Gospel, rebuked James and John who wanted to call down fire from heaven on the Samaritans that would not let them come into their town. Is there really any difference between the two situations? In fact, there is. First there is the urgency of the situation. Last week we saw disciples sent simply to prepare the way for Jesus. Today we see them sent to do the same things Jesus did, particularly curing the sick and preaching. They were not to be distracted by financial concerns or casual conversation. To judge by the final paragraph in today’s text, their mission was large