Blog:"and greet no one along the way": Difference between revisions
→"like lambs among wolves"
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== Extending the Mission from Jews to Gentiles == | == Extending the Mission from Jews to Gentiles == | ||
Through Luke Chapters 9 and 10, Jesus is preparing the disciples for their mission following him, teaching them in hints and broad statements, in baby steps and practice on their own. Prior to "The Mission of the Seventy-two," he similarly sent the Twelve ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/9?1 Lk 9:1-6]; told in [https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/10?1 Mt 10:5-15] and [https://bible.usccb.org/bible/mark/6?7 Mk 6:7-13]<ref>The Seventy-Two appears only in Luke.</ref>). He instructed the Twelve to pronounce "The kingdom of heaven is at hand" ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/10?7 Mt 10:7]) across Jewish lands only, whereas the Seventy-Two also went into Samaria and "pagan territory."<ref>The Twelve were told not to go to Samaria or pagan lands ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/10?5 Mt. 10:5]); whereas, evidently, the Seventy-Two did (see Constable's notes on [https://netbible.org/bible/Luke+10 Luke 10:1])</ref> There is the thought that Luke's audience was Gentiles, and Matthew's Jews, thus the emphasis on the Seventy-Two in Luke<ref>In Luke, the Mission of the Twelve is six verses long ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/9?1 Lk 9:1-6] -- and much longer in Matthew), whereas the Mission of the Seventy-Two extends into 24 verses in [https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/10?1 Luke 10]</ref>, but it makes complete sense that Jesus would gradually extend the Good News, first within Jewish communities with the Apostles, then to Samaritans and pagans with a larger crew of disciples. It also follows the pattern of fulfilling the Old Covenant for the Jews, then bringing it and the New Covenant across the world. | Through Luke Chapters 9 and 10, Jesus is preparing the disciples for their mission following him, teaching them in hints and broad statements, in baby steps and practice on their own. Prior to "The Mission of the Seventy-two," he similarly sent the Twelve ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/9?1 Lk 9:1-6]; told in [https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/10?1 Mt 10:5-15] and [https://bible.usccb.org/bible/mark/6?7 Mk 6:7-13]<ref>The Seventy-Two appears only in Luke.</ref>). He instructed the Twelve to pronounce "The kingdom of heaven is at hand" ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/10?7 Mt 10:7]) across Jewish lands only, whereas the Seventy-Two also went into Samaria and "pagan territory."<ref>The Twelve were told not to go to Samaria or pagan lands ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/10?5 Mt. 10:5]); whereas, evidently, the Seventy-Two did (see Constable's notes on [https://netbible.org/bible/Luke+10 Luke 10:1])</ref> There is the thought that Luke's audience was Gentiles, and Matthew's Jews, thus the emphasis on the Seventy-Two in Luke<ref>In Luke, the Mission of the Twelve is six verses long ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/9?1 Lk 9:1-6] -- and much longer in Matthew), whereas the Mission of the Seventy-Two extends into 24 verses in [https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/10?1 Luke 10]</ref>, but it makes complete sense that Jesus would gradually extend the Good News, first within Jewish communities with the Apostles, then to Samaritans and pagans with a larger crew of disciples. It also follows the pattern of fulfilling the Old Covenant for the Jews, then bringing it and the New Covenant across the world. | ||
== Travelers, wayfarers, and a fallen world == | |||
Thinking allegorically, a "way" or "path" is what lies between point A and B. The early Church -- and it's so amazing, was called, "The Way", as Jesus is "the way" to salvation. | |||
The world of travelers can be rather savory. | |||
We recall from John 1, | |||
He was in the world, | |||
and the world came to be through him, | |||
but the world did not know him. ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/1?10 Jn 1:10]) | |||
== "like lambs among wolves" == | == "like lambs among wolves" == | ||
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“Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves." ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/10?16 Mt. 10:16]) | “Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves." ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/10?16 Mt. 10:16]) | ||
</ref> | </ref> | ||
Just as traveling light means not carrying the burdens of the world, not greeting strangers on the road means not carrying on with the ways of the world. I'd like to take it even further, especially for priests: on your way to saving souls do not yourself get distracted by or entangled in the world's enticements. Certainly the warning about "wolves" is about those in the towns and villages who will reject the Good News -- but | Just as traveling light means not carrying the burdens of the world, not greeting strangers on the road means not carrying on with the ways of the world. I'd like to take it even further, especially for priests: on your way to saving souls do not yourself get distracted by or entangled in the world's enticements. Certainly the warning about "wolves" is about those in the towns and villages who will reject the Good News -- but also about those they may meet along the way. We'll focus on the latter. | ||
In [https://bible.usccb.org/bible/2corinthians/11?25 2 Cor 11:25-27], Saint Paul recounts the dangers of apostleship, | In [https://bible.usccb.org/bible/2corinthians/11?25 2 Cor 11:25-27], Saint Paul recounts the dangers of apostleship, | ||
Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I passed a night and a day on the deep; on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my own race, dangers from Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers at sea, dangers among false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many sleepless nights, through hunger and thirst, through frequent fastings, through cold and exposure. | Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I passed a night and a day on the deep; on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my own race, dangers from Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers at sea, dangers among false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many sleepless nights, through hunger and thirst, through frequent fastings, through cold and exposure. | ||
Much of his hardship happened along the way. While most of that was from weather (shipwrecked, cold), | |||
As did Paul, the Seventy-Two had the Lord's protection and the Holy Spirit to guide them (although Paul had a debt to pay: "and I will show him what he will have to suffer for my name", the Lord told Ananias ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/acts/9 Acts 9:16])). Still, the whole point about Jesus, the name which means "God saves," is that we live in a fallen world. The disciples, and Paul, needed protection from it. | As did Paul, the Seventy-Two had the Lord's protection and the Holy Spirit to guide them (although Paul had a debt to pay: "and I will show him what he will have to suffer for my name", the Lord told Ananias ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/acts/9 Acts 9:16])). Still, the whole point about Jesus, the name which means "God saves," is that we live in a fallen world. The disciples, and Paul, needed protection from it. | ||
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The serpents, of course, are those cast upon the unfaithful Israelites in [https://bible.usccb.org/bible/numbers/21?6 Num 21:6], saved only by looking up at the "bronze seraph" (serpent) upon the pole ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/numbers/21?8 Num 21:8-9]) The serpent, or snake, has its clear biblical implications. Scorpions, though, make an interesting reference. The Lord speaks in the Gospels of scorpions twice, and both in Luke, as here in Chapter 10 and again in Chapter 11 in a different metaphor to explain how the loving Father answers prayer: | The serpents, of course, are those cast upon the unfaithful Israelites in [https://bible.usccb.org/bible/numbers/21?6 Num 21:6], saved only by looking up at the "bronze seraph" (serpent) upon the pole ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/numbers/21?8 Num 21:8-9]) The serpent, or snake, has its clear biblical implications. Scorpions, though, make an interesting reference. The Lord speaks in the Gospels of scorpions twice, and both in Luke, as here in Chapter 10 and again in Chapter 11 in a different metaphor to explain how the loving Father answers prayer: | ||
What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish? Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg? ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/11?11 Lk 11:11-12]) | What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish? Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg? ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/11?11 Lk 11:11-12]) | ||
Scorpions both hide beneath benign objects and blend-in with their environment. They are active at night, are opportunistic predators with voracious appetites, and they hate one another.<ref>See [https://www.britannica.com/animal/scorpion Scorpion | Description, Habitat, Species, Diet, & Facts | Britannica]</ref> They're also inherently vicious looking, with the stinger always poised for attack. They make not just a dangerous pest, but a perfect metaphor for the dangers of a sinful world. | |||
If one disturbs the wrong place, one may expose oneself to grave harm from a scorpion lying in wait beneath or in it. Worse, they get into our own stuff. Extending the metaphor, then, if we stop at an unfamilir place for a beer along the way, we may be subjecting ourselves to sin. Not every rock has a scoprion, and not every pub worser enticements than draft. But we can imagine how it could be, depending on what dangers lie hidden within a place. The Lord is telling the disciples to avoid all occasion that might lead to trouble; get on with the mission, don't risk the snare, even if unlikely. | |||
The scoprion lurks beneath "occasions of sin,"<ref>See Saint Pope John Paul II's [https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_jp-ii_exh_02121984_reconciliatio-et-paenitentia.html Reconciliatio et Paenitentia (December 2, 1984) | John Paul II (vatican.va)]</ref> which the Lord tells us to avoid at the cost of, say, an eye or a hand or a foot ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/mark/9?43 Mk 9:43-47]). With snakes, scorpions and wolves abounding the world about us, and our own concupiscence<ref>our tendency towards sin</ref> leaning us in to them, the Lord knows we cannot avoid all dangers, thus, as he told the Twelve, and, surely, the Seventy-Two (although unrecorded), | |||
“Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves." ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/10?16 Mt 10:16]) | |||
It is stunningly good advice. | |||
Along the way to preach, cure ilness and drive out demons, the disciples were not to get distracted, not to let themselves get caught up in conversations or situations that might distract or mislead. | |||
== A little personal missionary journey == | |||
My friend and I once journeyed across the Piedmont by Grayhound bus in order to meet people who could use a little help in the form of an envelope with some dollars in it, slipped quietly to the person if his story yielded a little need. Across a week, encountered wonderful people, scary people, sad people and vile people. This was before my conversion, so it was not proselytizing, and instead, simple charity (my friend wanted to "give away money to someone who I'll never see again and so they won't ask me for more later"). Still, we were spreading cheer and good will, and I trust that some of those encounters are remembered still by those we met. I remember them all well. (Here for my blog on the trip: [https://goodwilltour2013.wordpress.com/ Goodwill Tour 2013.]) | |||
The satisfacton or hearing personal stories, helping out a little, and seeing a thankful smile or ray of hope enlighten a distressing day is inexplicably beautiful. I didn't know it at the time, but it is what the Lord wants from us. We returned home exhausted and exhilerated from what was, truly, nothing -- zero -- like what the disciples experenced. They were sent by God himself to preach God's very Word. Imagine it! | |||
So, as did the Twelve, the Seventy-Two "returned rejoicing" -- vastly understated but can be understood: they were thrilled, exhilerated, happy, satisifed, filled with wonder -- and rejoiced in it: | |||
returned rejoicing, and said, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us because of your name.” ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/10?17 Lk 10:17]) | |||
We don't know the details, although it's fun to think about -- who rejected them, who kicked them out of the synagogue or temple, who they healed, which demons they crushed, how the name "Jesus" could do anything. | |||
And that was without having stopped to talk to anyone along the way. | |||