GOSPEL, Matthew (10: 16-23)

Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew

 Coming Persecutions

¹⁶ “See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. ¹⁷ Beware of them, for they will hand you over to councils and flog you in their synagogues; ¹⁸ and you will be dragged before governors and kings because of me, as a testimony to them and the Gentiles. ¹⁹ When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given to you at that time; ²⁰ for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. ²¹ Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death; ²² and you will be hated by all because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. ²³ When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next; for truly I tell you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

The Gospel of the Lord

 

REFLECTION

This page of the Gospel is dedicated to the apostles of the past but has current value and leads us to understand the great difficulties in following the Lord along the path of incomprehension, persecution and even martyrdom. When it was written, the young Church already had some experience attested by the martyrdom of the deacon Stephen, the imprisonment of the apostles and the death of the Apostle James, son of Zebedee.

Neither in the past or present will the Apostle’s mission be easy. The proclamation of the Good News may generate a welcome or alternatively cause indifference, irritation, persecution and death.

Sent like sheep among wolves, Jesus recommends to them, the prudence of the serpent and the simplicity of the dove. The disciple’s attitude in the midst of a hostile environment will be one of caution, prudence and simplicity. God likes to communicate directly to the humble and to reveal to them His secrets, which He hides from the wise and learned of the world. (Matthew 11:25).

They know they can count on the help of the divine Holy Spirit, (vv.20) “for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.” Jesus tells them. Moreover, they know that Jesus does not deceive them. “If the world hates you, be aware that it hated me before it hated you.” (John 15:18)

Though, the end is not ‘nothingness’, knowing how to suffer with Christ is the great wisdom that opens up the future. A tenacious optimism animates those who follow Jesus with faith, because if he makes us partakers of his destiny, it takes us to the last consequences, through the cross, to the glory of the resurrection. If we believe in Christ, let us thank him, because he has splendidly predicted the end of our short lives.

                                                                                                                 

PRAYER

We thank you Lord Jesus, because you thought of us as witnesses of your gospel and of your love. Trusting in your word and in the strength of your Spirit, we want to demonstrate that we know and love you and willingly be your witnesses in all aspects of our faith, such as, purpose, solidarity and communion of life with our brothers and sisters. Amen.