Word to the Wise
Friday, July 8, 2016 - Friday in the 14th Week in Ordinary Time
[Hos 14:2-10 and Matt 10:16-23]When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say. You will be given at that moment what you are to say. For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. [Matthew]
The Gospel of Matthew is broadly organized around five great "discourses" which echo the five books of the Torah, the law of Moses. Jesus is portrayed in this gospel as a kind of new Moses. The gospel scripture for the past several days and for several more is taken from the second "discourse," which scripture scholars informally entitle, the "Missionary Discourse," because it is mostly made up of instructions to the disciples (then and later and now) on how to preach the gospel. [The other four "discourses" are the Sermon on the Mount 5:3-7:27; the "parable discourse" 13:3-52; the "church order discourse" [18:3-35] and the "eschatological discourse" 24:4-25:46] Once more I recommend reading the entire chapter ten to get an over all view since the lectionary divides the discourse up over several days.
Jesus gives commands about the lifestyle and dangers of missionary work. They are certainly not for the faint of heart. But they were embraced by enough people that Christianity spread rapidly around the Mediterranean world and many disciples lost their lives in the effort. St. Paul is probably the most well-known of those missionaries.
Pope Francis has made a considerable effort to re-enkindle the missionary spirit in the Church, especially in his document, "The Joy of the Gospel." By virtue of our baptism we are all called to be missionaries of mercy and to give witness to our faith. Right now, in the Middle East, it can be very dangerous to be a Christian anywhere the radical form of Islam is in charge. Here in the U.S.A., religious faith has become rather personalized and individualized so that we become reluctant to speak about it in person, preferring to leave that to the clergy and other church ministers. There is no real danger here, but we seem to resist the kind of witness that is open and public. Maybe we will hang a rosary on our rear view mirror or make the Sign of the Cross before making a foul shot or wear a "miraculous medal." Those are forms of witness, but they speak to the personal commitment and not to an effort to directly share the faith.
There are nearly one billion Catholics of various kinds in the world. If the missionary spirit could flame higher, perhaps we might reduce the violence and hatred that seem to be alive in so many places. AMEN
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