Jesus said in today’s Gospel: “Remember, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; so be cunning as serpents and yet as harmless as doves. Beware of men: they will hand you over to Sanhedrins and scourge you in their synagogues. You will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the pagans. But when they hand you over, do not worry about how to speak or what to say; what you are to say will be given to you when the time comes; because it is not you who will be speaking; the Spirit of your Father will be speaking in you.”
Most Catholics are very fortunate that we haven’t experienced the more severe forms of religious persecution. There are many Christians through out the world right now though, that are being martyred for their Christian faith.
Some of the readers on this website also live in countries that are suffering religious persecution and their lives could even be at risk because of it. But, I’m afraid that I do not know how to personally relate to their experiences, because US citizens have never experienced this type of religious persecution. I can not even begin to comprehend the evil that is directed toward Christians in other countries of the world. I pray for them, though. In fact, if there are any readers who are reading these words right now that live in one of these countries, I would like you to know that we are all praying for you.
I also wanted to mention that I’m the program coordinator for Catholic prison ministry at a maximum security men’s prison close to my home. I want you to know that the entire group of Catholic inmates, volunteers and priests pray for you during the prayers of intention at our Masses. One of our priests recently offered the Mass for you and some of the inmates pray for you personally, and we also pray for you as a group. We are united in the Spirit with you, no matter where you live and we pray for the safety of your families.
As far as the rest of us go, the only way that I can relate to today’s readings is that you can’t always know what people are really like, even within our own church. Jesus said in today’s gospel to “be as cunning as serpents but as harmless as doves,” and that’s pretty good advise for our secular world, but it is worth keeping in mind for the members of our own church sometimes too. Jesus and his disciples were all persecuted by members of their own religious community and so were many of the saints.
People’s motives and true nature are not always visible or readily apparent to others though. The recent scandals about the sexual abuse of minors by a few of our priests are one example. But, there are also many other sins that people keep hidden from other people, while keeping up the appearances of being holy in the eyes of the parish or their religious community.
A recent example of this in my personal life this week, is that a ministry director in our archdiocese was fired for stealing the ministry funds he had been entrusted with. This person was looked up to and admired by many people as a good, holy Catholic, but underneath the outward appearances … he was a thief.
And, I once knew a Eucharistic minister that was committing adultery with another parishioner’s wife, but he still came forward to give communion to the parish each week. His outward appearances of holiness did not accurately portray his true nature.
I also taught Sunday religious education classes once, with another catechist for about ten years when my children were little. She was also my immediate supervisor in this ministry with the children and was a very active member of our parish. I had known her for many years ever since our children were babies and I trusted her completely, so when my daughter asked to visit with her 13 year old daughter I didn’t even give it a second thought. However, my daughter later confided in me that this catechist was allowing both of her children to do drugs in her home and let their boyfriends/girlfriends stay overnight in her children’s rooms. Both of her children ended up going to prison for dealing drugs and I’m very lucky that I was able to get my daughter untangled from this situation in time, before more permanent damage was done. My daughter did not do drugs, but this was still a major problem in our family and she could have gone to prison too, if she had continued to be friends with this family in our parish.
I was too naive to have trusted my fellow catechist, just because we volunteered together for a such long time in our parish. This is what I think Jesus meant for us “to be as cunning as serpents, but harmless as doves.”
However, people are also falsely accused sometimes too though, by others who are jealous of a person’s talents or position in the church. This happened to Jesus and his apostles too. If this should ever happen to you though, it is best to “be harmless as a dove” and not add fuel to the fire. The Holy Spirit will step in as your advocate, especially if your own motives are pure. Just remember Jesus’s words in today’s gospel:
“Do not worry about how to speak or what to say; what you are to say will be given to you when the time comes; because it is not you who will be speaking; the Spirit of your Father will be speaking in you.”
This week I hope we can all try to remember Jesus’s words “to be as cunning as serpents and as harmless as doves.” Prudence is called for in our relations in the secular world, but also within our own faith community sometimes too.
