“God is with us.”
What a peculiar image in today’s reading. But it is an image that reminds us that everyone called by God is called to be a missionary, sharing what you have tasted with others so that they might be drawn closer to the Lord.
“In those days, ten men of every nationality, speaking different tongues, shall take hold, yes, take hold of every Jew by the edge of his garment and say, ‘Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.’” Salvation is not a lonely journey.
Picture this for a second, ten people holding onto the garment of one and all eleven heading to God’s holy place. The ten are drawing close because the believing one is known to be with God and people can see what difference this makes in her life.
Too often in the Church we focus on the decline of numbers, on a vocation’s crisis, or on the decline of Christendom. This reading flips that attitude on its head. God can call so many through the witness of so few. Thus did the Church begin, with just 12, and thus, in every age does the Church grow, through the witness of the few who attract the many. Christians are called to be missionaries because they desire to share what they have found with others. Let us pray for the grace today to be open to how the Lord is calling us to share his love and grace with others and let us be open to who might respond to this witness and be drawn to hold onto our garment as together all walk toward the mountain of God.