Reading
Matthew 10:16-23
16 “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. 17 Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues. 18 On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. 19 But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, 20 for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
21 “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. 22 You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. 23 When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. Truly I tell you, you will not finish going through the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.
Comment
Jesus sends us into the world, but he warns us of his hostility towards us. The wolves are the enemies of the Church, but also the false prophets who disguise themselves as sheep (Mt 7:15). The comparison with doves is an invitation not to contaminate ourselves: while operating in the world, the believer does not belong to him (Jn 17:14-15), he escapes his logic, keeping himself pure (this is the meaning of the Greek verb akeraioi, candid).
Christ brings peace to our relationship with God; he brings peace to our consciences; he brings peace among believers, but we will find tribulation in the world. The latter is not a reality well disposed to accept the Gospel, because he obeys an evil power, and entered into it because of sin, which the Gospel of John names as "the prince of this world" (Jn 12:31; 14:30).
The persecutions faced by the disciples of Jesus are an occasion to bear witness to him, with the assistance of the Holy Spirit and of Jesus himself, who affirms in the last words of the Gospel of Matthew "I am with you always, to the very end of the age" (Mt 28:20). We are not abandoned to our weakness in our battle against "the powers of this dark world" (Eph 6:12).
The word of the gospel strikes like a sword upon family ties themselves. The believer's prospect on this earth appears frightening: "You will be hated by everyone because of me" (v. 22); but endurance will lead to salvation.
The duration of the persecutions until the Son of man came (v. 23) attests that this prophecy of Jesus does not refer to the mission of the Twelve in the course of Jesus' ministry, but to the last times, which pass from his death and resurrection on his glorious return.
The indifference and opposition of the world cannot represent an excuse for us Christians not to evangelize. If we are not all destined to shed blood for Christ, every believer is called to become a witness (Gr. Màrtus) in the small and great persecutions of life, perhaps in a secret and silent "martyrdom", like a small piece of a mosaic that adorns the church building.
Prayer
Your Spirit sustains us, Lord, keeping us faithful in the moment of trial, to testify your word of truth. Amen.
- Rev. Dr. Luca Vona
