Scripture:
Hosea 11:1-4, 8e-9
Matthew 10:7-15
Reflection:
The Gospel of Matthew may be the most Jewish of the gospels. Matthew wrote for a Jewish-Christian audience living in or near the homeland. He structured his gospel into five discourses:
The Sermon on the Mount; the Missionary Discourse; the Parables; the Church; and the End Times. With this five-part structure, Matthew wants to mirror his gospel to the Torah and its five books.
Today’s gospel falls within the context of the Missionary Discourse. Jesus has just appointed 12 apostles, symbolic of the 12 tribes of Israel. He now instructs the 12 on what they are to say and do.
They are to go out to the “lost sheep of Israel,” all Jewish people, and proclaim the Good News: “The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” That is, the Kingdom is near them, among them in the person of Jesus. “Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, drive out demons.” These all are signs of the imminence of the kingdom among the people. And the 12 are to participate in Jesus’ mission.
Furthermore, they are not to be distracted by material needs that may distract them from their mission, that may give them a false sense of security. Instead, they are to demonstrate radical trust in Christ.
As it was for the 12, so it is with us today. By right and obligation of our baptism, we too are called to mission, to proclaim the Good News to a despairing world desperate to hear good new; to the poor, the marginalized, the forgotten who are left for dead, the sick in body or soul.
And how are we to participate in Jesus mission? By our words, our actions. We are to travel light, unburdened by the false securities of consumerism, materialism, and expectations of praise. This mission is not an easy one. No. It is fraught with challenge, rejection, and ridicule. That is why we are to bear witness to the Good News by the way we live, with radical trust in Christ.
One critical difference distinguishes us from the 12. Jesus sent them to the “lost sheep of Israel.” Not us. In Matthew’s gospel, the risen Christ tells us to go and make disciples “of all nations.”
That is our mission.
Deacon Manuel Valencia is on the staff at Mater Dolorosa Passionist Retreat Center, Sierra Madre, California.