A reading from the gospel according to Mark 16:15-20:

15 Jesus appeared to the Eleven and said to them: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.
16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned.
17 These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages.
18 They will pick up serpents with their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them. They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
19 Then the Lord Jesus, after he spoke to them, was taken up into heaven and took his seat at the right hand of God.
20 But they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word through accompanying signs.

Reflection: Proclaiming the Good News

The time of Jesus’ physical presence on earth has come to an end. The task of continuing His mission of building the Kingdom of God fell on the apostles’ shoulders. With no formal education and only three years of training by Jesus Himself, they are now given the enormous mission to evangelize people through the proclamation of the Good News. Yet they were not being sent alone. Jesus promised to be with them until the end of time (Matthew 28:20). Moreover, they will be empowered by the Holy Spirit, and amazing signs will accompany them.

When the apostles passed away, the mission of evangelization was passed on to their successors and until now, we have pastors, priests and lay people doing the task of proclaiming the gospel. Yet, every believer for that matter has the duty to become an evangelizer. In our own everyday living, we can show to others what the gospel message is all about. In fact, our loving actions can speak louder than our words. If the believers love one another, the world will know that they are disciples of Jesus (John 13:35).

Spreading the good news is not an easy task. Many people will not listen. Some people will not only discourage but even persecute or kill the messenger. What happened to Jesus can be done to His disciples. Yet, there is no stopping the mission. Every believer or messenger must endure because ultimately, the Kingdom of God will prevail and those who have chosen to persevere will be rewarded with eternal life.