Word to the Wise
Saturday, July 15, 2023 - Saturday in the 14th Week in Ordinary Time
[Gen 49:29-32; 50:15-26a and Matt 10:24-33]"Are not two small sparrows sold for a small coin? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father's knowledge. Even all the hairs of your head are counted. So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows." [Matthew]
JULY 15 ST. BONAVENTURE OFM, bishop and doctor of the church
Scripture scholars tell us that the missionary discourse that comprises all of chapter 10 of the Gospel According to Matthew is probably a collection of statements made by Jesus on various occasions to the disciples. I would sum this chapter up by saying discipleship is tough and challenging, but we are going to be OK as long as we stay faithful to the message and persistent in living it and sharing it. Jesus continually says to the disciples (and to us), "Do not be afraid....!" That may be the biggest challenge of all after reading the other instructions about lifestyle and family division and persecution.
I have found some comfort in the sparrow image. In two very different locations - the Arizona desert and the Oregon Pacific coast - I have noticed the little sparrows going about their lives under God's loving providence. There are plenty of predators ready to gobble them up, but they keep at their mission and lives. Every feather is counted! A close friend of mine and I share the word PROVIDENCE! with one another in the face of our many challenges. Jesus assures us of that providence. As the great French Dominican preacher, Lacordaire, once put it: "All I know of tomorrow is that Providence will rise before the dawn." AMEN