Wednesday of Week 25 of Ordinary Time – Gospel

Commentary on Luke 9:1-6

As we move on to chapter 9, we have left out a number of stories in chapter 8—the calming of a storm on the lake, the healing of a demoniac, the raising of Jairus’ daughter and the healing of a woman with a haemorrhage. However, these are dealt with elsewhere in our readings from the other Gospels. We are now moving into a turning point in the public life of Jesus and in his relationship with his disciples.

This is, in fact, the third tour of Galilee by Jesus. On the first tour he was accompanied just by the four fishermen he had called first—Peter, Andrew, James and John. On the second, all the Twelve were with him and on the third, he was alone after sending out the Twelve on their own mission.

We begin the reading today with Jesus sending his chosen Twelve on their mission. It is the first time he has sent them out on their own without his being with them. Basically, they are to do exactly as their Master does. They are given power over evil forces and to heal sicknesses. They are also to proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom.

They are to travel in total freedom and so are not to bring anything with them which would make traveling more difficult:

Take nothing for your journey: no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money—not even an extra tunic.

It is understood that the people will support them in return for the services they render. It is expected that hospitality will be extended to them in the traditional way of the Middle East.

And they are not to be choosy about where they are received:

Whatever house you enter, stay there, and leave from there.

And, in places where they and their message and their services are not welcome:

…as you are leaving that town shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.

This was a symbolic act which the Pharisees practised when they left an ‘unclean’ gentile area. In this case, the act signifies that people are rejecting not just the disciples, but God himself, whom they bring with their message and their healing.

So they departed and went through the villages, bringing the good news and curing diseases everywhere.

It really was the beginning of the Church. And it was the work of making the Kingdom a reality, God’s will being done on earth.

The same mission is entrusted to each one of us, although it will obviously be adapted to our life situation. We are called, individually and in community, to proclaim the gospel by word and lifestyle. We are called to help liberate people from negative forces and addictions of all kinds that can enslave. We are called to be sources of healing and wholeness, and for this we do not need to be part of the medical profession. We are called to live lives of simplicity, using only those things which we need for life and work and rejecting all superfluity and luxury. As we have already noted: the really rich are those whose needs are the least. It is a message our consumer world needs to hear and see.

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Wednesday of Week 25 of Ordinary Time – First Reading

Commentary on Proverbs 30:5-9

Today we have our last selection of readings from Proverbs. They give us a taste of what the rest of the book is like. In this reading, there are two pieces of advice for us to reflect on.

Our reading today is taken from chapter 30, which begins:

The words of Agur son of Jakeh. An oracle. (Proverbs 30:1)

It is not known who Agur is. He is simply called ‘son of Jakeh the Massaite’. Massa is in northern Arabia and elsewhere referred to as an encampment of the Ishmaelites (Gen 25:13-14). However, the word may not be meant as a place name, but rather signify ‘an oracle’ or ‘a prophecy’.

First we are urged to take refuge in the unalloyed or flawless word of God, which will be our most effective security in life. When we fully assimilate that word, we are endowed with a vision of life which enables us to see where real truth and goodness lie.

At the same time, we are not to play around with God’s word and distort it to suit our own convenience. Moses gave a warning to the Israelites about that long before (Deut 4:2). It is something we can do very easily, especially when we take a text out of its context as some people, including preachers, tend to do. As Shakespeare wrote, “The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose”. It is not at all difficult for us to do the same.

The reading ends with a prayer to God for two things. This begins a section of the chapter called ‘numerical proverbs’. Further on the author introduces sets of proverbs with “three things” and “four things”:

Remove far from me falsehood and lying…

In other words, the writer begs for the gift of integrity. The author desires wholeness, where there is perfect harmony between his inner self and his outward behaviour, and between God’s will and the deepest desires of his heart. Jesus said:

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. (Matt 5:8)

He also prays for a basic security in life, that he be supplied with his essential needs. We pray for this when we say the Lord’s Prayer:

Give us each day our daily bread…

He wants neither wealth nor destitution. Both have their dangers. Wealth can alienate one from God. In the arrogance of wealth I may be tempted to say, “God? Who is he? What has he got to do with me? I don’t need him.” We remember the parable of the rich fool with his full barns (Luke 12:13-21). Moses predicted that Israel would forget God when their food was plentiful and their herds large (Deut 8:12-17). The ever-growing prosperity of western society has led to a parallel growth in secularism.

Destitution, on the other hand, can lead to criminal ways in order to survive. In our day of great material prosperity coupled with enormous areas of destitution and poverty, the Christian community can give formidable witness by repudiating the consumerist, hedonistic mentality through living a life of decent simplicity. We also need to work hard to bring about a more equitable sharing of the vast wealth that parts of our world are generating.

This was originally the purpose of religious life and it is still the ideal, but it is not often as visible in the lives of religious as it could be. This is partly because some religious themselves are not immune to the consumerist ‘bug’, but also because the normally simple lifestyle of the majority of religious is not seen enough by people.

In our day, lay people too can give this witness of simplicity, living according to one’s needs. A good definition of a person who is really rich: one whose needs are the least.

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