The opening scene of today’s Gospel is on a mountain in Galilee. Jesus had instructed His disciples to travel to this mountain. When the disciples arrived Jesus appeared to them. When they realized that it was Jesus who was in their midst, they were excited and overjoyed! And they worshiped Him!
However, within minutes, their faith and joy began to dissipate. Matthew writes: “They began to doubt.” What was it that caused Jesus’ disciples to move from great joy and excitement to doubt within a few seconds? Did they wonder if Jesus was simply an illusion? Did they not believe that this apparition truly was Jesus? How sad it must have been for Jesus when He realized that His disciples did not trust that He truly was with them once again!
Jesus approached them and spoke to them. He said, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” He then sends these faithful followers of His to  “go and make disciples of all nations.” They were to baptize and teach. Their mission was to share with peoples of all nations what Jesus had taught them.
How  did the disciples react to Jesus’ instruction? Were they excited about this possibility? Or were they apprehensive about this mission? Were they concerned about leaving their families? Or were they elated and filled with joy to have Jesus in their midst once again? Were their hearts overflowing with love for Jesus? Just imagine this wondrous scene!
How would we respond if Jesus appeared to us and then instructed us  to “Go forth and teach all nations?” 
Would we be thrilled that Jesus had chosen and entrusted us with His mission or would we find ourselves coming up with a variety of reasons and excuses why we are unable to “go and teach all nations?” 
We do have responsibilities to our families and our community. However, for most of us our call is to preach the Gospel every day, right where we are,  by what we say, how we say it, what we do and how we do it! The familiar adage: “Actions speak louder than words” is very true! 
Words are simple and sometimes distracting. To preach how we live is a full time commitment. The gift is: if we choose to preach the Gospel, we simply need to live our lives in a loving and generous way. However, we have to make this choice! No one else can do it for us. So: what will we choose?

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