Saint Henry (Optional Memorial)
Behold, I am sending you. (Matthew 10:16)
Do you feel just a little intimidated by Jesus’ words, that he is sending you to evangelize? Maybe you doubt that you’re holy enough. Or skilled enough. Or winsome enough. If so, try to look at “being sent” from a different angle.
Think about sending a letter in the mail. When you mail a letter to a friend, you try to make it look presentable. You pick nice paper, a clean envelope, and use your best penmanship. You try to choose just the right words. But you realize that the real “power” sending the letter is the stamp attached to the envelope. If there’s a misspelled word or bent corner, you don’t worry about it; the letter will still be delivered as long as it has a stamp. You trust your friend will receive it and appreciate the gesture.
Being sent out by Jesus is not so different. We are like letters sent by God. Our every encouraging word and caring deed can communicate God’s love to the people around us. In fact, St. Paul called the Corinthians “a letter of Christ . . . , written
. . . on tablets that are hearts of flesh” (2 Corinthians 3:3). So of course you’ll want to make your letter the best letter possible. Of course you’ll want to live in a way that reflects God’s goodness and to speak words that lift up people’s hearts. But you also know that the real work of evangelization doesn’t rest only on your skill or effort. You need the stamp of God’s grace.
Yes, the Lord calls us to be shrewd. Yes, being sent out does require our time and effort. But remember: the call to evangelize hinges on two things: the stamp of God’s grace and the letter of your life. Don’t discount the grace! Don’t forget that God wants his word to get out. Don’t forget that he wants to help you be as effective as possible.
So keep on speaking words of hope and performing deeds of kindness. But also rest in the knowledge that it’s not only about you. It’s also about the One who sends you, the God who has sealed you with his grace. He knows about your smudges and bent corners, and he’s sending you anyway because he trusts in the power of the stamp he has affixed to your life.
“Here I am, Lord. Send me.”
Hosea 14:2-10
Psalm 51:3-4, 8-9, 12-14, 17
Saint John XXIII (1881-1963)
pope
Journal of a soul (©Geoffrey Chapman)
"Be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves"
Everyone must be treated with respect, prudence and evangelical simplicity... The example of Jesus is more closely followed in the most appealing simplicity, not dissociated from the God-given prudence of wise and holy men. Wiseacres may show disrespect, if not scorn, for the simple man. But those wiseacres are of no account; even if their opinions and conduct inflict some humiliations, no notice should be taken of them at all: in the end everything ends in their defeat and confusion. The 'simple, upright, Godfearing man' is always the worthiest and the strongest. Naturally he must always be sustained by a wise and gracious prudence.
He is a simple man who is not ashamed to profess the Gospel, even in the face of men who consider it to be nothing but weakness and childish nonsense, and to profess it entirely, on all occasions, and in the presence of all; he does not let himself be deceived or prejudiced by his fellows, nor does he lose his peace of mind, however they may treat him.
The prudent man is he who knows how to keep silent about that part of the truth that it would be inopportune to declare, provided that this silence does not affect the truth he utters by gainsaying it; the man who knows how to achieve his own good purpose, choosing the most effective means of willing and doing...; who, in all circumstances, knows how to choose the middle way which presents fewer difficulties and dangers; the man who, looks to God alone, in whom he trusts, and this trust is the foundation of all he does. Simplicity contains nothing contrary to prudence, and the converse also is true.
Simplicity is love: prudence is thought. Love prays: the intelligence keeps watch. 'Watch and pray' (Mt 26:41): a perfect harmony. Love is like the cooing dove; the active intelligence is like the snake that never falls to the ground or bruises itself, because before it glides along it first probes with its head to test the unevenness of the ground.