In today’s Gospel we hear that Jesus sent out the disciples in pairs, but they were to take almost nothing with them – so they had to rely on the providence of God on their travels - and the generosity of the people they would stay with on the journey. Those people would be strangers to them – but the disciples were reliant on those strangers’ hospitality. This requires faith. The teaching that God’s love is present in welcoming strangers and neighbours is a strong belief of many cultures. The divine lives in each of us, and when we welcome each other, we welcome God, and Jesus, the Son of God. According to Jesus’ instructions, if people didn’t welcome or listen to the disciples, they were to walk away, shaking the dust from under their feet. This gesture represents both cleansing and Jesus’ displeasure at those who have rejected these strangers (his disciples) – we would surely not want that for ourselves. When seafarers are in foreign ports, they often rely on the strangers who visit them to support them – to take them to the shops, to give them internet access, to take them to a Church for Mass or confession. Often, they don’t even speak the local language, making things even harder.
Sea Sunday is the day our parishes pray for seafarers and fishers and support Stella Maris (Apostleship of the Sea) - the Catholic charity that provides that welcome for seafarers in ports in this country and around the world. The chaplains and volunteers of Stella Maris listen to seafarers’ stories, help to provide what they need, and answer Jesus’s call to give hospitality to the stranger.
We pray for the people of the parish of St. John XXIII, Rochdale and Littleborough, with Father Robert Lasia, their parish priest, their parish primary schools, the chaplaincies to the Rochdale Royal Infirmary and His Majesty’s Prison Buckley Hall and the Daughters of Divine Charity.