Blog:"and greet no one along the way": Difference between revisions
→"like lambs among wolves"
| Line 26: | Line 26: | ||
== "like lambs among wolves" == | == "like lambs among wolves" == | ||
In the literal sense, bringing no money, bag, or sandals, and greeting no one, means just that. With the purpose to focus on the mission, our commentators tell us the why. But if we extend the directive allegorically, as did the Bishop at our Ordination Mass, there's a lot going on. | In the literal sense, bringing no money, bag, or sandals, and greeting no one, means just that. With the purpose to focus on the mission, our commentators tell us the why. But if we extend the directive allegorically, as did the Bishop at our Ordination Mass, there's a lot going on. | ||
behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves<ref>To the Twelve, he said, | behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves<ref>To the Twelve, he said, | ||
“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 | 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 alsy 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. | ||
As did Paul, the Seventy-Two had the Lord's protection and the Holy Spirit to guide them | 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. | ||
With his protection, Jesus tells them, | |||
Behold, I have given you the power ‘to tread upon serpents’ and scorpions and upon the full force of the enemy and nothing will harm you. ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/10?19 Lk 10:19]) | |||
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]) | |||
Snakes and scorpions both hide beneath benign objects, and both can blend in with their environment. Extending the metaphor, then, if one reaches for what seems normal or unexpected, one may expose oneself to grave harm from the scorpion (or snake) lying in wait beneath or in it. Not every rock has a scorpion lying in wait, but those rocks that do may be deadly. That is, if we stop for a beer, are we subjecting ourselves to grave sin? Probably not. But we can imagine how it could be, depending on what dangers lie hidden within the place. The Lord is telling the disciples to avoid all occasion that might lead to trouble. Get on with your 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, even of an eye or a hand or a foot ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/mark/9?43 Mk 9:43-47]). | |||
As did the Twelve, the Seventy-Two "returned rejoicing, | As did the Twelve, the Seventy-Two "returned rejoicing, | ||