Worth the hurry

"We're going to be late for church!" your mother yells, running around the house. You're still in your pajamas, and you can't seem to get dressed fast enough! You don't like rushing -- and why does your shoe keep coming untied?

Hurrying to church can be a pain, but it's worth it when you get there. You get to go to the children's Mass, to sing, color and learn about God with other kids. In this week's Gospel (Luke 10:1-12,17-20), Jesus' followers learn that hurrying can be a good idea!

Jesus sent 72 followers out to the towns He was going to visit. He told them: "Don't take money or shoes with you; don't even stop to say hello to people. When you go into a house, say, `Peace be with you.' Eat what they give you, heal the sick people and tell them, `God is coming.' But if they don't listen, shake the dust of that town from your feet and move on." When the 72 came back, they were excited: They could heal people in Jesus' name!

Jesus' followers had to hurry, too. They had to stay ahead of Jesus as He visited towns, to get people ready to listen to Him. There were no cars then, so they had to walk miles every day -- and they were in SUCH a hurry that Jesus said not to bother bringing money or even shoes! They had important things to do.

Getting to church, you sit down and sing along with the music, look at the colored windows and get ready to learn about God. When Jesus' followers got to a new town, they sat down and ate at someone's house, and got ready to teach everyone about God.

The best part of church for you might be the children's Mass; but for Jesus' friends, the best part of hanging around with Him was making sick people well. Like church, that was worth the hurry!

PRAYER FOR THE WEEK: Jesus, help me to hurry when I have to -- especially when I'm hurrying to you! Amen.

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