July 2016 - Page 2 of 2 - Shepherd of Faith

Twelve Apostles, Australia

Jesus commissioning the twelve – we read about this in Matthew 10:7-15. Today I decided to do a lectio divina with this passage. I write about lectio divina in one of my pages – I hope you’ve had an opportunity to read about it if you’ve never heard of it. It is a powerful practice and one you will crave once you start doing it. I cannot stress enough how God’s awesomeness becomes apparent when you open your heart to His Word. I’ll get back to this in a moment.

As some of you may know, I wake every morning at about 4 am. My phone and headphones are usually on my night stand (for no other reason but to use my prayer apps – the phone is actually on “do not disturb”) and while my husband gets ready for work, I pray, meditate and/or read. I get out of bed around 4:45 to prepare his lunch and after he leaves at 5 am I get back in bed with my headphones on and meditate or read some more. At this time I usually use the Pray as you go app and then do Divine Office. Today I read the daily mass readings, which included the Gospel of Matthew, and then I did Divine Office.

During lectio, the phrase that struck me in this Gospel is: “make this proclamation ‘The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.'” We’ve heard this before and we’ve also heard of the sense of urgency implied in that proclamation. Christ is coming, prepare yourselves! Today, I got a different message. What does it mean when something is “at hand?” “At hand” means nearby. According to the web “nearby” can be interpreted two ways: 1) close in time or about to happen; 2) readily accessible when needed. When we apply the second interpretation to the “proclamation” it becomes: The Kingdom of Heaven is readily accessible when needed! Aha! Amen!

Jesus goes on to tell his apostles to take nothing for their journey. He’s sending them out as “laborers” and implies that all of their needs will be provided for by those who receive them. That seems like a lot to ask. It’s going to take a lot of trust on their part and also much discipline to take nothing for their journey. One interesting note here, which I heard in yesterday’s homily – the twelve have gone from being called disciples to being called apostles. The root of the word disciple is discipline. Apparently, they have passed the test. They were disciplined enough to become the first apostles, close followers of Christ.

How does this apply to us? Today, who is supposed to do the work of the original apostles? We are! This Gospel gives us direct instructions. It’s calling us to empty ourselves – of all our possessions and distractions, of the things we’ve learned, to release the thoughts that force us to operate from the mind and to unlearn our way back to God, to become like little children in order to operate from the heart. The message is clear, be disciplined in order to become His present day apostles!

As I continued my “studies” today, the message became clearer. This is why I say God’s awesomeness becomes apparent when you open your heart to His Word. Romans 14:17-19: “The kingdom of God does not mean eating or drinking this or that, it means righteousness and peace and joy brought by the Holy Spirit. If you serve Christ in this today you will please God and be respected by men. So let us adopt any custom that leads to peace and our mutual improvement. Wow!

So back to the proclamation: The kingdom of heaven is at hand. This takes on a whole new meaning for me today. Here’s what I hear Jesus saying when commissioning the twelve: “Make this proclamation: righteousness and peace and joy brought by the Holy Spirit is readily accessible when needed!” Isn’t it comforting to know that we have the authority, through the Holy Spirit, to access righteousness, peace and joy whenever we need it? All we have to do is be disciplined in our practice and be open to the movement of the Spirit. More importantly, we’re expected to share this news with others.