10-Jul-15

Gospel MT 10:16-23
Jesus said to his Apostles:
“Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves;
so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves.
But beware of men,
for they will hand you over to courts
and scourge you in their synagogues,
and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake
as a witness before them and the pagans.
When they hand you over,
do not worry about how you are to speak
or what you are to say.
You will be given at that moment what you are to say.
For it will not be you who speak
but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
Brother will hand over brother to death,
and the father his child;
children will rise up against parents and have them put to death.
You will be hated by all because of my name,
but whoever endures to the end will be saved.
When they persecute you in one town, flee to another.
Amen, I say to you, you will not finish the towns of Israel
before the Son of Man comes.”

Reflection:
It is not uncommon these days for people to be offered a "signing bonus" or some other incentive when they agree to accept a position with a company.
Imagine someone offering you a job, and then they say, "Oh, by the way, if you do a good job you will be hated, arrested, whipped, and hauled into court."
No one could ever accuse Jesus of sugarcoating the position he was offering his apostles.
Jesus was radical in both his teachings and what he asked of his followers.
Our Lord walked the earth in a time when the spiritual message of the day was to seek a form of justice that bordered on revenge, i.e., "An eye for an eye. A tooth for a tooth."
Yet, he taught people that the way to God was to do exactly the opposite. "Turn the other cheek. When someone takes your coat, give them your shirt as well. Give, looking for nothing in return." Luke 15.
Jesus was a realist. He knew his teaching that we should "love one another" would not resonate with many people and that the apostles would experience rejection and ridicule.
Yet, he sent them out "like sheep among wolves."
Although Christians are still persecuted and even killed for their beliefs in today's world, for the most part, we are not sent out "among wolves."
Yet, our mission is the same. We are called to preach the same message of love for one another through the example of how we live our lives.
When my neighbor violates my boundary, is my first reaction to be angry and threaten to sue, or do I approach him with love and an attitude of reconciliation?
Even though I have the Christian fish symbol on my rear bumper, is the person behind me watching as I scream and make rude gestures to the person who cut me off?
Christ and the apostles suffered and died so that I may live a life filled with the love and peace of God.
Do my life and my actions bring honor or disgrace to their sacrifice?
“The Christians are right: it is Pride which has been the chief cause of misery in every nation and every family since the world began.” C. S. Lewis