Daily Gospel Reflection

An Invitation for All

I'm Matthew Kelly and welcome back to Radical and Relevant, where we're exploring the genius of Jesus, the genius of Catholicism, and the radical relevance of the gospel in our everyday life today. Remember, as we listen to the gospel, we're looking for a word, a phrase, or an idea to focus our day on, to allow the gospel to sink its roots deep into our lives through that word, that phrase, or that idea today. And each day as we listen to the gospel, we do the same thing. Today's gospel is from the Gospel of Mark 16:15-18. "And Jesus said to them, 'Go out into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation. He who believes and is baptized will be saved, but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe in my name. They will cast out demons. They will speak in new tongues. They will pick up serpents. And if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them. They will lay their hands on the sick, and the sick will recover.'" The word that jumps out to me today is all. Jesus says to them, "Go out into all the world."

I think so often we live in a culture of exclusion. We live in a culture that is excluding so many different people for so many different reasons. And the reality is, is that we exclude people in our own lives. We exclude people from conversations, you know? I hear the kids sometimes talking about, this person won't play with this person at school, or this group doesn't let this kid play at school. And so it starts when we're very young, right? And we get into this excluding mentality. And it's not a Christian mentality. It's not a gospel mentality. And so, as you think about the gospel today, think about who are you excluding from your life? Who are you excluding from your generosity? Who are you excluding from your virtue? Who are you excluding from different activities you participate in? And why are you excluding them? Why are you excluding them?

Because we can very easily get into this anti-Christian or non-Christian exclusionary mindset. And it wasn't the mindset of Jesus. It isn't the mindset of the gospel. Jesus invites us to be Catholic, which means universal, which means everyone. And ultimately, the gospel is an invitation to everyone to join and participate in the kingdom of God. Let's go out there today and spread the gospel. Have a great day. Remember, don't just be yourself, be the very best version of yourself, all that God created you to be