14th Week in Ord. Time, Friday – 8th July 2022 — Gospel: Mt 10,16-23
Be Vulnerable
When Jesus sends us to bear witness to Him in the world, he does not send us out as dominant and strong, but as weak and defenseless. As sheep in the midst of wolves, Jesus expects us to walk fearless toward wolves and not away from them. With His strength, Jesus exhorts us to transform wolves into sheep, but doesn’t expect us, the sheep to turn as wolves. In sending the vulnerable sheep, Jesus cautions that we will be treated the way wolves treat sheep. The wolves will deliver the sheep to courts and the sheep will suffer persecution from both religious and secular authorities, as well as resistance and division within families. However, since all authority belongs to Jesus, he might intervene and shut the mouths of the wolves, like God did the mouths of the lions that surrounded Daniel. In the face of tribulations, Jesus urges us to trust in the guidance of God’s Spirit and in the Father’s providential care. Even though the sheep are proverbially stupid, Jesus counters that notion by saying “be wise as serpents”. So vulnerability, not stupidity, is the point of calling us sheep. Be like snakes, not sheep, when it comes to being smart. For the snakes are quick to get out of danger. In the midst of wolves, be innocent as doves, which is to keep your reputation as clean as you can. And so both the snake-intelligence and the dove-innocence are both designed to keep the vulnerable sheep out of trouble.
