Subj: MATTHEW 10:17-22: SATURDAY'S GOSPEL FOR REFLECTION
Date: 12/26/98 12:12:58 AM Pacific Standard Time
From: mtuazon@ix.netcom.com (Manuel Tuazon)
Reply-to: daily-word@cin.org
Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (To the Greater Glory of God)
For: Saturday, December 26, 1998
Feast: St. Stephen, First Martyr
From: Matthew 10:17-22
Jesus' Instructions to the Apostles
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(Jesus said to His disciples) [17] "Beware of men; for they will deliver
you up to councils, and flog you in their synagogues, [18] and you will
be dragged before governors and kings for My sake, to bear testimony
before them and the Gentiles. [19] When they deliver you up, do not be
anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are
to say will be given to you in that hour; [20] for it is not you who
speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. [21]
Brother will deliver up brother to death, and the father his child, and
children will rise against parents and have them put to death; [22] and
you will be hated by all for My name's sake. But he who endures to the
end will be saved."
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Commentary:
16-23. The instructions and warnings Jesus gives here apply right
through the history of the Church. It is difficult for the world to
understand the way of God. Sometimes there will be persecutions,
sometimes indifference to the Gospel or failure to understand. Genuine
commitment to Jesus always involves effort--which is not surprising,
because Jesus Himself was a sign of contradiction; indeed, if that were
not the experience of a Christian, he would have to ask himself whether
he was not in fact a worldly person. There are certain worldly things
a Christian cannot compromise about, no matter how much they are in
fashion. Therefore, Christian life inevitably involves nonconformity
with anything that goes against faith and morals (cf. Romans 12:2). It
is not surprising that a Christian's life often involves choosing
between heroism and treachery. Difficulties of this sort should not
make us afraid: we are not alone, we can count on the powerful help of
our Father God to give us strength and daring.
20. Here Jesus teaches the completely supernatural character of the
witness He asks His disciples to bear. The documented accounts of a
host of Christian martyrs prove that He has kept His this promise: they
bear eloquent witness to the serenity and wisdom of often uneducated
people, some of them scarcely more than children.
The teaching contained in this verse provides the basis for the
fortitude and confidence a Christian should have whenever he has to
profess his faith in difficult situations. He will not be alone, for
the Holy Spirit will give him words of divine wisdom.
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Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentary
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland. Printed in Hungary.
"The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries" is currently available in
the New Testament version only.
"Nihil Obstat": Stephen J. Greene, "Censor Deputatus".
"Imprimi Potest": J. O'Carroll, Diocesan Administrator, 15 October
1987.
Reprinted with permission from the U.S. publisher (see below).
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if possible). May our good Lord richly bless you for your love of
neighbor and please remember this ("Mustard Seed") apostolate in your
prayers.
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