Message of Abbot Paul - Saturday 10th July
Message from Fr Paul for Saturday, 10th July 2021
I mentioned yesterday the systematic arrangement of Matthew’s Gospel and spoke of blocks of teaching. We continue today, (Mt 10: 24-33), with further instructions given by Jesus to the Twelve Apostles, as they set out on their ministry. Rather like the Sermon on the Mount, it’s a Vademecum of Jesus’ teaching not only to the Twelve but to those who would accompany and follow them in proclaiming the Gospel and the coming of the kingdom of heaven in the person of Jesus Christ. This teaching will continue well into next week, so, as you can see, it’s a fairly substantial collection of the teaching of Jesus to his disciples on the mission of the Church. What must be said is that this is important teaching, not to be taken lightly.
Jesus speaks of the relationship between disciple and teacher, between himself and his disciples, but ends with a warning: be prepared to be treated and spoken about as your master was. “The disciple is not superior to his teacher, nor the slave to his master. It is enough for the disciple that he should grow to be like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, what will they not say of his household?” If they have called me the devil, then be prepared for what they might call you.
What often besets a disciple is fear, hence his words of encouragements: “Do not be afraid of them therefore. For everything that is now covered will be uncovered, and everything now hidden will be made clear. What I say to you in the dark, tell in the daylight; what you hear in whispers, proclaim from the housetops.” We should not be afraid to speak out publicly on important issues that concern the law of God, It is our duty to shine the light of God’s truth in the midst of the darkness of error. He goes deeper into the power of fear that sometimes overwhelms us. “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; fear him rather who can destroy both body and soul in hell. Can you not buy two sparrows for a penny? And yet not one falls to the ground without your Father knowing. Why, every hair on your head has been counted. So there is no need to be afraid; you are worth more than hundreds of sparrows.” What is the point of fearing other human beings, after all, what can they do to us? No more than kill the body, but our souls are with God. Jesus speaks with such tenderness: his words we know well. There is nothing that God does not know and he will protect us in our needs. Every hair on our head is counted: God knows and loves us through and through.
Today’s Gospel concludes with Jesus promising to pray before his heavenly Father and support all those who declare themselves for him in the presence of their fellow men and women. But those who prove false and disown him will not receive that prayer and support on the part of Jesus. We need to pray at all times for the gift of fidelity to Jesus and to the Gospel. If we fail to communicate the Good News by the integrity of our lives and our love of God and neighbour, then who will do it for us? We cannot leave the mission to others.
