Word to the Wise
Wednesday, July 9, 2008 - Wednesday in the Fourteenth Week of Ordinary Time
[Hosea 10:1-3, 7-8, 12 and Matthew 10:1-7]Do not go into pagan territory or enter a Samaritan town. Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, make this proclamation: "the Kingdom of heaven is at hand."
Nowadays, we have an expression, "staying on message," which means a person who resists distraction from communicating a particular "message" or agenda! In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus is depicted as coming for the "lost sheep of the house of Israel." The mission becomes "universalized" only after his death and resurrection. For the time being, the Twelve (the number representing the 12 tribes of the "new" Israel) must go to the old Israel and bring the new message of the Messiah! Jesus has trained them in his teaching (the Sermon on the Mount) and example (he reaches out to the poor and marginalized). It's time for the Twelve to hit the road and do the same things. It was probably an anxious time for teacher and disciple! We must remember that the Twelve were themselves members of the lost sheep. They were humans with faults and foibles. Peter could be impulsive. Matthew was known as a tax collector. Judas was greedy. Simon was a zealot. John and James were politically ambitious! No matter what, they were to "stay on message." Centuries later we might ask if WE have "gotten the message" and can in turn "stay on it" and pass the word, "The Kingdom is at hand!" We've been taught and we have the example of centuries of dedicated men and women who proclaimed the Kingdom. Now it's our turn! Hit the road! AMEN
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