A CALL TO AUSTERITY AND SIMPLICITY!

Thursday, July 07, 2011

Weekday

by Lorenz S. Centino, Jr.

Matthew 10: 7 – 15

7          And preach as you go, saying, `The kingdom of heaven is at hand.'

8          Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying, give without pay.

9          Take no gold, nor silver, nor copper in your belts,

10        no bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor a staff; for the laborer deserves his food.

11        And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it, and stay with him until you depart.

12        As you enter the house, salute it.

13        And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you.

14        And if any one will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet as you leave that house or town.

15        Truly, I say to you, it shall be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomor'rah than for that town.

PERSONAL REFLECTIONS:

A BLESSED THURSDAY TO ALL!

One of the hot issues these past days that rock the Church is the alleged PCSO “cars” and “cash gifts” given to Catholic Bishops. These allegations created a lot of reactions. A lawmaker even considered it to be a “sin” for alleging that the Church is competing in obtaining what is legitimately due for the countless indigent patients and other legitimate beneficiaries. There are leaders of the Church who expressed their allegation that these Bishops were singled out because of their strong anti-position on the passage of the RH bill. Whatever is the “truth” behind this controversy is not the point of my reflection. This is for the competent authority on the matter to settle and the Church hierarchy to clear up.

The above controversy, however, has some bearing on the Gospel today. Jesus charged his disciples to preach the Kingdom of heaven, heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, and cast out demons. Yet in doing so Jesus seem to indicate, at the same time, that they will NOT carryout their mission for PROFIT or INCOME, or any MATERIAL REWARD. Jesus was very explicit and direct in his reasoning, “You received without paying, give without pay.” This simply means that they must serve without any interest for recompense. Furthermore, it is a demand that sets the prime direction and goal of the disciples’ missionary activity that they have to perform FOR the GLORY of GOD ALONE, that they must render service to others as service for God and not for any other material profit or reward for themselves.

Jesus did not even indicate an easy and comfortable missionary journey that the disciples will take in the service of the Kingdom of Heaven. On the contrary, Jesus indicated a very SIMPLE and AUSTERE LIFE-STYLE in the performance of their task. Jesus bids them to go but commanded them to “Take no gold, nor silver, nor copper in your belts, no bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor a staff.” Austerity and simplicity was meant to define their life-style in order for them to be fully attuned to Jesus bidding for them to preach and not be distracted by any “worldly” and “selfish” concerns. Moreover, it was meant for them to also have a WITNESSING IN ACTION and LIFE-STYLE and not just by words. Therefore, service for the Kingdom of God does not seek for any special treatment and any form of privilege from anyone. The true disciples should not demand for anything, but just be open for the generosity from those who recognize the value of their ministry. And so Jesus told his disciples to give their salutations to those who welcome them. Jesus demanded from them indirectly to put their hearts on God’s providence and not on any human “benevolence” that might compromise their allegiance and loyalty.