In this Gospel passage, Jesus uses a simple, mind-opening analogy to illustrate his point. His listeners knew that the cheapest life in the market was a small bird of the field, perhaps a sparrow. Yet, God’s providential care knows even when this smallest of birds dies. Jesus is using here a rabbinic argument technique which compares a light matter to a heavy one. His idea here is to overcome fear and encourage the disciples, and us, to trust God.
Jesus recognizes that fear may cause failure on our part. We see in the Gospel how on the one hand, the disciples are granted remarkable powers to heal the sick, exorcise demons, cleanse lepers, even to raise the dead. But at the same time, Jesus denies the disciples money, extra clothes, or a walking stick to aid in climbing the ups and downs of life or to protect themselves from wolves. He even denies them a pair of sandals to shield their feet from rocks and stones, or, if they travel the fields in Florida, sandspurs.
They are to undertake their mission in complete vulnerability and dependence on God with an awareness that they go as “sheep in the midst of wolves.” We know their stories. They faced arrests and beatings, hatred and persecution and opposition, even from family members.
With great care and compassion Jesus names aloud the suffering to be endured and its causes. This is the first step in freeing them from the tenacious grip of fear. Benedict knew this, didn’t he? Remember what he says about receiving newcomers (Chapter 58). “Do not grant newcomers an easy entry … test the spirits, let them keep persistently knocking at the door four or five days … they should be clearly told the things of everyday living in community; all the hardships and difficulties that will lead to God. She, the newcomer, must be aware of what the Rule requires so that she may know what she is entering.”
Just as Jesus modeled the way for his disciples, we make a commitment to the each other to model Benedictine living. An example: A young boy, out for a walk with his father on a cold winter day, was scared to cross a frozen pond … afraid of falling through the ice. But then his Father offered to lead the way. Now the boy didn’t hesitate to go across the ice. The ice hadn’t become less frightening, but he was able to follow his father, trusting his father wouldn’t lead him to harm. He followed his father without fear across the ice. Jesus leads us; we lead each other.
As we sing in the Suscipe: “Uphold me, O Lord, as you have promised, and I shall live, and do not disappoint me in my hope.”
“I am not afraid of tomorrow, for I have seen yesterday and I love today.” (William Allen White). Also see Sirach 30:21-15: “Gladness of is the very life of a person, and cheerfulness prolongs our days.”
~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB
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