Brothers and sisters, the context of this gospel passage is this: Jesus has just called to
him twelve disciples to whom he gives the name “Apostles”, that is to say
messengers, sent, bearers of a mission. And he has just sent them “to the lost sheep of
the house of Israel”. Today’s Gospel describes the commissioning of the twelve
apostles for the apostolic work of preparing the towns and villages for Jesus’ coming
visit to them. Sent out in pairs to preach the coming of the Kingdom of God,
repentance, the forgiveness of sins, and liberation, they were to follow Jesus’ detailed
action-plan and bear witness to Jesus by their simple lifestyle.
By his instructions, it is clear that Jesus meant his disciples to take no supplies for the
road. They were simply to trust that God, the Provider, would open the hearts of
believers to take care of their needs. Jesus’ instructions also suggest that the apostles
should not be like the acquisitive priests of the day, interested only in gaining riches.
They should be walking examples of God’s love and providence. The Jews supported
their rabbis, their masters, and they judged doing so a privilege as well as an
obligation, seeing hospitality as an important religious tradition. The apostles are told
they should choose temporary accommodation in a reputable household, should bless
the residents with God’s peace, and should be satisfied with the food and
accommodation they received, not searching for better. They were to preach “’the
Kingdom of Heaven is at hand,’ heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, and cast
out demons.”
We, too, have a witnessing mission: Each Christian is called not only to be a disciple,
but also to be an apostle. As apostles, we have to evangelize the world by sharing
with others, not just words, or ideas, or doctrines, but our own experience of God and
His Son, Jesus. It is through our transparent Christian lives that we must show the
love, mercy, and concern of Jesus to the people around us.
We also have a liberating mission: There are many demons which can control the
lives of people around us, making them helpless slaves — the demon of drugs, the
demon of alcohol, the demon of gambling, the demon of pornography, the demon of
promiscuous sex and the demon of materialism. We need the help of Jesus to liberate
ourselves and others from these things.
Brothers and sisters, on July 11, the church remembers Saint Benedict
Abbot, the Founder of the Benedictine monastery at Monte Cassino,
Italy, and father of Western monasticism.
Born in 480 into a prominent family at Nursia in central Italy, Benedict
rejected the immoral and profligate life of the rich and became a hermit
outside Rome, where he attracted disciples. At his monastery at Cassino
he formulated the Benedictine Rule, which became standard in
monasteries throughout Europe. The Rule includes a probationary year
prior to the vow of obedience and lifelong residence at one monastery, a
ban on personal property, an abbot elected for life who appoints all
other officers, and a precisely ordered day that includes five to six hours
of liturgy and prayer, five hours of manual work, and four hours of
scriptural and spiritual reading. He died in 547.
He was canonized in 1220 by Pope Honorius III. He was declared Saint
patron of Europe by Pope Paul VI in 1964, and declared co-patron with
Saints Cyril and Methodius by John Paul II in 1980, as well as the
patron of monks, farmworkers and victims of poisoning.
