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"Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to councils and scourge you in their synagogues. You will be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.
"Now brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. And you will be hated by all for My name's sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in this city, flee to another. For assuredly, I say to you, you will not have gone through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes."
- Matthew 10:16-23
Yesterday, we read that Jesus sent out the Twelve and commanded them, saying: "Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as you go, preach, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.' Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. Provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your money belts, nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs; for a worker is worthy of his food. Now whatever city or town you enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and stay there till you go out. And when you go into a household, greet it. If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it. But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet. Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!"
"Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves." My study bible explains Jesus' instructions to be wise as serpents as given so that the apostles might not be unnecessarily wounded that they might take all advantage in the spread of the gospel. To be harmless as doves is an instruction not to retaliate against those who do them wrong. Rather they should remain blameless in their witness of the gospel. Jesus' command to go out and preach the gospel is not a command of blindness, but awareness and thoughtfulness. The fact that their mission must be characterized by humility (see yesterday's reading, above) calls for wisdom and discernment.
"But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to councils and scourge you in their synagogues. You will be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you." Jesus doesn't promise the apostles easy or uneventful lives. He warns them of persecutions. But here is the great power and paradox: they will be given what to speak in testimony, as witnesses. And the Spirit who speaks in them is "of your Father." There can be no greater grace conveyed on human beings, nor greater sign of God's love than to express God-likeness from the Father.
"Now brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. And you will be hated by all for My name's sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in this city, flee to another. For assuredly, I say to you, you will not have gone through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes." Christ promises tribulation and difficulties. This isn't a mission for the faint of heart! My study bible says that persecution must not cause the disciple to quit, but simply to move forward in mission. It tells us that St. John Chrysostom commented that before the Son of Man comes isn't a reference to Christ's Second Coming, but rather that before the disciples could visit all the cities in Palestine, He would rejoin them, thus more quickly ending the hostility they would encounter.
Jesus sends out the apostles with a warning, what their conduct must be: as wise as serpents and harmless as doves. Eyes wide open to both good and evil, at least in their understanding of it. He warns them of persecutions. It's odd to me that so many seem to think that the right faith will bring us a "magical" kind of life, meaning with great prosperity and material things. I'm not doubting that this is possible, but when we think of blessings we have to remember what that really means. A life can be holy and blessed whether it is lived with struggles and hardships or everything seems to be smooth sailing. Sometimes blessings come through difficulties -- a powerful personal change for the better happens through grace that permeates a difficult challenge. A prayerfully lived life isn't only during "good times." With God, all things are possible, and that means that good things can come out of nominally "bad" circumstances. It is Jesus who teaches in the Gospels that affliction is not necessarily the product of personal sin, but may in fact be occasion for great grace (John 9:2-3). When Jesus tells the apostles that the Spirit of the Father will speak to them in testimony and witnessing, this is perhaps the greatest crown of all for a human being. Psalm 8 asks, "What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him? For You have made him a little lower than the angels, and You have crowned him with glory and honor." That the Spirit of the Father can speak through human beings is a sign that this is so, a great blessing - even a kind of revelation here - in the midst of trial and difficulty and danger. Let us remember that Christ calls us to understand what it is to have a blessed life no matter what our circumstances. The blessings of faith include a "peace that passes understanding" -- the peace the apostles are to offer wherever they go. They also include great joy, given by Christ in preparation for an unthinkable tragedy. Let us understand this mission to be characterized by humility, and think about the living blessings of love, truth, and grace that transcend a limited focus on how much "stuff" we have, or what the rest of the world thinks about us.
