Today’s Readings are all about authority and signs. Paul in the reading to the Romans describes himself as a Slave of Jesus, and even though Paul is not one of the original 12 Apostles, sees himself as an Apostle because of his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus. Because of the enormity and live alternating nature of that encounter, Paul dedicates the rest of his life to spreading the message of God, through the worldly mission of Jesus Christ.

Paul sees himself as nominated an apostle of Christ. Paul describes is conversion as instantaneous and beyond human comprehension. Perhaps the most important aspect of this is his acquiring “knowledge” of God in a way he cannot describe. Often the characteristic of a mystical experience. Paul saw as a Great Commission. In fact the Second great Commission that followed on from the First Commission of the 12 apostles of the time of Christ.

This second commission was to convert the Gentiles. So Paul wanted in his letters and messages to the forming Christian communities of the time to make it clear that he was as humble a servant as could be possible. A slave of Jesus Christ. But he also made it clear that he had the commission and authority to spread this message. Almost all of the letters to the various communities start out in this format. A welcome to them all, but also establishing his teaching authority.

So Paul places himself higher than a mere messenger, rather someone divinely appointed by God himself to do this work.

He was a messenger, apostle and disciple as he carried out God’s work according to his will and became one of the most important people in the establishment of the Christian faith.

So what has all this to do with me this Columbus Day morning you might well ask? In my early Christian life I used to think of myself as a radio receiver, rather like a pair of ears attentive to the word of God.

The means by which I received this word came in many languages; some of which I did not understand well as a child, or even as an adult.

It is very interesting looking at the early church messages and messengers, like Paul and his followers. There messages were very clear, God loves you and has sacrificed himself for your salvation. Honor and love him. Live out your life like his, be like Christ, do good not evil, help others, share what you have, do not rely on goods or worldly things. Sounds rather like Pope Francis today doesn’t it. Simple, Powerful and filled with Love.

So back to my radio receiver. As a child, the messengers I heard had three channels. I had the sacraments, which I understood confession, although always a little nervous of it, and the Eucharist. I never understood why, but I always felt a little more peaceful after receiving the Eucharist, no bells ringing, but a nice peaceful feeling inside me, as Jesus has come to rest in my soul.

The other two channels were my parents and the nuns at schools. The nuns at School were good Irish Dominicans.

They did not spare the rod, but also were fair about things, but they wanted you to be able to recite the answers in the Catechism. It was an early education in me in the difference between “knowing something” and understanding it. When I “knew something” as a child, I could repeat the answer, parrot fashion, but there was no understanding. For example, the commandment that shalt not commit take the name of the Lord thy God in vain (number 3), was clear. Don’t swear or use God’s name as a swear word. But why was it bad?

What were the swear words? Why were they bad? Why did they offend God?

The answer; on the frequent occasions that I asked questions—answers were not forthcoming. Some would be answers like “Hold your tongue Michael Cunningham” or “Because the Bible Says so” or the Church says so.

Often when faced with this “no answer questions” I would return home and ask my parents the same thing.

There seemed to be some sort of collusion going on, because my parents had exactly the same answers as the nuns, as if they had been silently spying on me in my Catechism lessons.

It took me many years to find out the answer, and turns out it was also in the Catechism but I had not made the connection.

The message was in the early Penny Catechism in two questions:

Who Made me? … God made me. Why did God make me?

To know him and love him and to serve him.

This is the message of Paul today, it is the message of Jonah to the Ninevites, and these are the messengers that broadcast his clear message of love. The commandments of the Old Testament are for sure worth following, but the commandments and instructions of the New Testament are to Love. To Love God, to love each other. Our neighbor as ourselves.

My five-year-old grandson understands such a lot about love. His favorite word is love. After receiving a nice bath from his grandmother, he dons his pajamas and hugs her as tight as he can and says “I love you Nana”.

The word love is the word I would have understood my catechism and instruction as a child from those other messengers, the nuns and my parents. It they told me that commandments were really about love, I would have got it instantly, instead, I thought they either didn’t know an answer deeper than “the Church says so” or they did not connect this to love. I know the latter is not true, because they dedicated their lives to God, just like the slave to Jesus Christ Paul presents himself in the first reading.

But why don’t we lead with love first. If we lead with love and show how all those roads lead to Him as a result we are already home.

Because we understand love. We know Love. We know the Lord Jesus Christ. We will meet him again soon in the Eucharist.

We are with him. We are the receiver of the message, and we are also the broadcaster of it.

We are messengers, we are disciples. Let’s broadcast our message of love this day and every day.