In today's Gospel, as witnessed in Luke 10: 1-12, Christ offers us all a glimpse into His Peaceable Kingdom! The term "Peaceable Kingdom" comes from the title of a favorite song of mine by 70's ProgRock Icon, Adrian Belew. While it has nothing to do with the readings of the day, the song illustrates that the concept that in order for "peace" to become real, it needs hard work and much hope.
It is with this intention that Jesus offers his disciples a working job description with an urgency reflected in His saying, "The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few." The sending forth of these disciples offers the world the challenge of peace, and the work and hope that it entails.
- Go in pairs: Two are most certainly better than one, especially when offering a challenging message, for remember the standing rule, "where two or more are gathered, there [Christ] is in their midst." (MT 18:20)
- Carry no money bag, no sack, and no sandals: Remember that were called to trust! (MT 18: 1-5)
- Greet no one along the way: Where it may seem like a contradiction with the purpose of evangelization, greeting no one (individual) along the way, embraces the sense of urgency, and the need to "make disciples of all nations". (MT 28:19)
- Into whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace to this household.': The term "house" could mean more than just, the home, or place where a family lives. It could refer to entire family and generation of people, like the "House of David"!
- Stay in the same house and eat and drink what is offered to you: This action of trust, that you will be cared for by accepting the hospitality of those you greet, allows you to share the Good News, and them to share their gifts as well!
- Do not move about from one house to another: It is comforting to know that you don't have to go "door-to-door" like a salesman. The gift of the Good News is free, and it is shared by knowledge, experience, and example. If you make a good impression on one "house", then they will share that invitation with their neighbor! It seems similar to the logic employed by Jesus with respect to healing. His healing of the blind is primarily designed to show the world that it too can see through its spiritual blindness.
- Whatever town you enter and they welcome you, eat what is set before you, cure the sick in it and say to them, 'The Kingdom of God is at hand for you.': This expands on the rule of visiting a "house" to include more than just share a philosophy of thinking. Help them with their needs, and make the connection that this IS the Kingdom at hand, or at work, in the here and now!
- Whatever town you enter and they do not receive you, go out into the streets and say, 'The dust of your town that clings to our feet, even that we shake off against you.': Jesus knows first hand that all of us should be prepared to be rejected. This somewhat dramatic response does add the notion that we should not give into the easier alternative of quitting the journey!
On this Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi, we celebrate a true example of this literal commitment to today's Gospel challenge by reflecting on his view of the "Peaceable Kingdom"
Who Was St. Francis?
from AmericanCatholic.org Saint of the Day: St. Francis of Assisi
http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/Saints/Saint.aspx?id=1158
Francis of Assisi was a poor little man who astounded and inspired the Church by taking the gospel literally—not in a narrow fundamentalist sense, but by actually following all that Jesus said and did, joyfully, without limit and without a sense of self-importance. Serious illness brought the young Francis to see the emptiness of his frolicking life... Prayer—lengthy and difficult—led him to a self-emptying like that of Christ, climaxed by embracing a leper he met on the road. It symbolized his complete obedience to what he had heard in prayer: "Francis! Everything you have loved and desired in the flesh it is your duty to despise and hate, if you wish to know my will. And when you have begun this, all that now seems sweet and lovely to you will become intolerable and bitter, but all that you used to avoid will turn itself to great sweetness and exceeding joy." From the cross in the neglected field-chapel of San Damiano, Christ told him, "Francis, go out and build up my house, for it is nearly falling down." Francis became the totally poor and humble workman... He really believed what Jesus said: "Announce the kingdom! Possess no gold or silver or copper in your purses, no traveling bag, no sandals, no staff" (see Luke 9:1-3). He was torn between a life devoted entirely to prayer and a life of active preaching of the Good News. He decided in favor of the latter, but always returned to solitude when he could.
from AmericanCatholic.org Saint of the Day: St. Francis of Assisi
http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/Saints/Saint.aspx?id=1158
Francis of Assisi was a poor little man who astounded and inspired the Church by taking the gospel literally—not in a narrow fundamentalist sense, but by actually following all that Jesus said and did, joyfully, without limit and without a sense of self-importance. Serious illness brought the young Francis to see the emptiness of his frolicking life... Prayer—lengthy and difficult—led him to a self-emptying like that of Christ, climaxed by embracing a leper he met on the road. It symbolized his complete obedience to what he had heard in prayer: "Francis! Everything you have loved and desired in the flesh it is your duty to despise and hate, if you wish to know my will. And when you have begun this, all that now seems sweet and lovely to you will become intolerable and bitter, but all that you used to avoid will turn itself to great sweetness and exceeding joy." From the cross in the neglected field-chapel of San Damiano, Christ told him, "Francis, go out and build up my house, for it is nearly falling down." Francis became the totally poor and humble workman... He really believed what Jesus said: "Announce the kingdom! Possess no gold or silver or copper in your purses, no traveling bag, no sandals, no staff" (see Luke 9:1-3). He was torn between a life devoted entirely to prayer and a life of active preaching of the Good News. He decided in favor of the latter, but always returned to solitude when he could.
From the Article: "Who Wrote the Prayer of St. Francis" by Friar Jack Wintz, O.F.M.
The first appearance of the Peace Prayer
According to Dr. Christian Renoux of the University of Orleans in France, it “occurred in France in 1912 in a small spiritual magazine called La Clochette (the little bell). The prayer bore the title of Belle priere a faire pendant la messe; “A Beautiful Prayer to Say During the Mass” and was published anonymously. The prayer was sent in French to Pope Benedict XV in 1915. This was soon followed by its 1916 appearance, in Italian, in theOsservatore Romano. Around 1920, the prayer was printed by a French Franciscan priest on the back of an image of St. Francis with the title Priere pour la paix, “Prayer for Peace,” but without being attributed to the saint. Between the two World Wars, the prayer circulated in Europe and was translated into English, [appearing] in 1936 in Living Courageously, a book by Kirby Page (1890-1957), a Disciples of Christ minister. [Mr.] Page attributed the text to St. Francis of Assisi. During the Second World War and immediately after, this prayer for peace began circulating widely as the Prayer of St. Francis and over the years has gained a worldwide popularity with people of all faiths.”
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Like that of Christ, our mission on earth is to bring to others God’s peace-- Shalom is a wish that those so greeted will find healing and fullness of life. St. Francis saw this as his mission, too. In Chapter 3 of his Rule [in the year] 1223, he advised his followers that in going about the world “they should not be quarrelsome or take part in disputes with words…or criticize others; but they should be gentle, peaceful and unassuming, courteous and humble, speaking respectfully to everyone...Whatever house they enter, they should first say, ‘Peace to this house’”(Cf. Luke 10:5).
Like that of Christ, our mission on earth is to bring to others God’s peace-- Shalom is a wish that those so greeted will find healing and fullness of life. St. Francis saw this as his mission, too. In Chapter 3 of his Rule [in the year] 1223, he advised his followers that in going about the world “they should not be quarrelsome or take part in disputes with words…or criticize others; but they should be gentle, peaceful and unassuming, courteous and humble, speaking respectfully to everyone...Whatever house they enter, they should first say, ‘Peace to this house’”(Cf. Luke 10:5).
Where there is hatred, let me sow love,
A man really loves his enemy when he is not offended by the injury done to himself, but for love of God feels burning sorrow for the sin his enemy has brought on his own soul, and proves his love in a practical way.”
Where there is injury, pardon,
During the violence-ridden Crusades, St. Francis discovered a path of peace, pardon and non-violence. The “little poor man” went to Egypt to engage in a peaceful dialogue with the sultan (head of the Muslim forces), a meeting in which a spirit of forgiveness, respect and understanding prevailed. Francis would have the same message for those in our times who are so quick to see violence as the only cure for terrorism.
Where there is doubt, faith,
When, as a young man, Francis found himself in a fog of doubt as to the nature of God’s care for him, he sought the face of God through prayer in solitary places. God opened Francis’ eyes of faith. The saint saw a vision of Christ gazing at him from the Cross with such a look of love that Francis’ “soul melted,” to use the words of his biographer, St. Bonaventure. The fog of doubt lifted for Francis, and he went through the world setting others free from their own burdens of doubt.
Where there is despair, hope/Where there is darkness, light,
Think of St. Francis embracing lepers and lovingly washing their sores. Surely, many of those suffering souls felt an inner surge of hope and human dignity when they experienced Francis’ care.
And where there is sadness, joy.
Francis used to say that he wanted his followers to go about the world like strolling minstrels, “to inspire the hearts of people and stir them to spiritual joy.” They give us an example to follow in our own day!
And so the prayer continues for each of us...
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned ,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. AMEN
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