Blog:"and greet no one along the way": Difference between revisions
→Travelers, wayfarers, and a fallen world
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In ancient Near Eastern culture people often gave very long greetings that tied them up sometimes for days (cf. Judg. 19:4-9; 2 Kings 4:29). Jesus did not mean that His disciples should be unfriendly or unsociable but that they should not allow these greetings to divert them from their mission. They were to pursue their work and not waste their time on lesser things. | In ancient Near Eastern culture people often gave very long greetings that tied them up sometimes for days (cf. Judg. 19:4-9; 2 Kings 4:29). Jesus did not mean that His disciples should be unfriendly or unsociable but that they should not allow these greetings to divert them from their mission. They were to pursue their work and not waste their time on lesser things. | ||
[[File:70Apostles.jpg|thumb|70 Apostles (Byzantine icon, Wikipedia)]] | [[File:70Apostles.jpg|thumb|70 Apostles (Byzantine icon, Wikipedia)]] | ||
Perhaps that's exactly what Jesus meant: don't get bogged down by extended | Perhaps that's exactly what Jesus meant: don't get bogged down by some extended ritualistic normative cultural protocol. | ||
Throughout Luke Chapters 9 and 10, Jesus is preparing the disciples for their mission to follow, 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>) whom he instructed to pronounce that "The kingdom of heaven is at hand" ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/10?7 Mt 10:7]), only 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 through 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 first, then bringing it and the New Covenant across the world. | 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 through 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 first, then bringing it and the New Covenant across the world. | ||
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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. | 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. | ||
It's in the getting there we find trouble, and not just allegorically, as the world of travelers can be rather | It's in the getting there we find trouble, and not just allegorically, as the world of travelers can be rather unsavory. Indeed, the Lord mentions the word "world" frequently, generally as a reference to creation and mankind or as the fallen "world" ruled by Satan. In Luke's version of the Temptation of Jesus, | ||
Then he took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a single instant. ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/4?5 Lk 4:5]) | Then he took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a single instant. ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/4?5 Lk 4:5]) | ||
The "world" is that which is not of Heaven and God. You know, where we live, which is why Christ instructs us to be like a beacon upon a mountain, for his disciples are, | The "world" is that which is not of Heaven and God. You know, where we live, which is why Christ instructs us to be like a beacon upon a mountain, for his disciples are, | ||
You are the light of the world. ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/5?14 Mt 5:14]) | You are the light of the world. ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/5?14 Mt 5:14]) | ||
That lamp is not to be extinguished on its way up the hill. So, sending out of the Seventy-Two is preparation for the larger journey to follow Christ's Death and Resurrection, when the world will be much larger and far more dangerous. Jesus needs them to get ready, needs them to discern good from evil, and to wield the powers and protections of Faith. | |||
== "like lambs among wolves" == | == "like lambs among wolves" == | ||
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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<ref>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]), who baptized Saul.</ref>. 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 that protection, Jesus tells them, | ||
With | |||
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]) | 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]) | ||
[[File:Erastus,_Olympus,_Rhodion,_Sosipater,_Quartus_and_Tertius_(Menologion_of_Basil_II).jpg|left|thumb|Martydom of Saints Erastus, Olympus, Rhodion, Sosipater, Quartus and Tertius (from the "Menologion of Basil II", a 10th-12th century Byzantine manuscript depicting the lives of the Saints, as well as the liturgical calendar and themes (Wikipedia)]] | [[File:Erastus,_Olympus,_Rhodion,_Sosipater,_Quartus_and_Tertius_(Menologion_of_Basil_II).jpg|left|thumb|Martydom of Saints Erastus, Olympus, Rhodion, Sosipater, Quartus and Tertius (from the "Menologion of Basil II", a 10th-12th century Byzantine manuscript depicting the lives of the Saints, as well as the liturgical calendar and themes (Wikipedia)]] | ||
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. | 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, literal and allegorical. | ||
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: | 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 | 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 a severe danger in a sinful world. | ||
Scorpions take advantage of the mundane, lying in wait within it. Worse, they get into our stuff, and we can then carry them around, literally and figuratively, as baggage. Extending the metaphor, then, if, say, we stop at an unfamiliar place for a beer along the way, we may be subjecting ourselves to an unknown danger. Not every rock has a scoprion, and not every pub offers worser enticements than draft, but we can easily imagine how it could be, depending the given place. The Lord is telling the disciples to occasions that might lead to trouble and instead get on with the mission, as there will be trouble enough at the destination. So don't stop to say hi, and don't risk the snare, even if unlikely. | |||
As the scorpion, so to sin lurks beneath "occasion"<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, as well (although unrecorded), | As the scorpion, so to sin lurks beneath "occasion"<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, as well (although unrecorded), | ||