Where would Jesus stay?

The world is so full of surprises. Continents, oceans, countries, languages, cultures and people all make us wonder at God’s mysterious power and leave us with wonder and awe. God created everything and found it very good. The Psalmist says that he put all these things under man’s feet. Man is the steward of God’s kingdom. Only man in the entire creation gets the reward of being the image and likeness of God: that is because God loves us, human beings. Man was offered a place for his life and mission. Ever since man possessed a land, he started being a missionary.

It is certainly impossible for us to live in a den or a nest. We all have, by God’s grace dwellings conducive to our needs and aspirations. Our place is our city of God: that is our home. We started possessing different dens and nests on account of our sins. Jesus expresses this concern that the son of man does not have a place to rest his head. We all live in sin as long as we still hold on to the dens and nests, rejecting to live and love as chosen people of God. That hinders our missionary activities.

St. Therese of Child Jesus certainly did her part in proclaiming to the world the importance of mission in her words and deeds. She never left the convent, but she is one of the patron saint for missions along with Francis Xavier who traveled far and wide. The Church sees the relevance of proclaiming the good news wherever we are, irrespective of being sent to different states or countries.

Missionary activities in the church are very much related to the inner disposition of the missionaries. I am able to preach the good news only if I am able to love and live. Every missionary in one way or other is faced with this question: where would Jesus stay? He cannot stay in the den nor nest. And we don’t want to see Jesus lonely, nowhere to lay his head. Is my heart ready for him to stay today? This moment… Amen.