With you. A reading of the holy gospel according to Matthew. Jesus said on this occasion to his disciples, as you go, make this announcement. The reign of god is at hand. Cure the sick, raise the dead, heal the leprous, expel demons.
The gift that you have received, give as a gift. Provide yourselves with neither gold nor silver nor copper in your belts. No traveling bag. No change of shirt. No sandals, no walking stick.
The workman after all is worth his hire. Look for a worthy citizen in every town or village that you come to and stay with him until you leave that town or village. As you enter his house, bless it. If a home is deserving, your blessing will descend upon it. But if it is not, your blessing will return to you.
If anyone does not receive you or listen to what you say, leave that house or town, and once outside of it, shake its dust off your feet. I assure you that it will go much easier for the region of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgement than it will for that cow. And this is the gospel, the good news of the lord. The name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit. Amen.
The first reading today is certainly a dramatic story. You wouldn't have to be a genius to turn that into a very successful drama, and it offers many enticing thoughts. The one thing I want to suggest is the that in the heart of Joseph, after that bitter treatment that he had received, there was nothing but love for his brethren. There's not a suggestion there of revenge or hatred or getting even or any of the ordinary human reactions of a man or a woman who had been treated as he had been by his relatives. Because you know in many instances, we are far more ready to forgive strangers than we are those of our household.
However, there's a thought that comes out of this second reading that is to me extremely important because I think in many instances, we have a false conception of a certain doctrine of Jesus Christ. And that is I I'm not sure how to phrase it, but here he sends his disciples out with the obligation to carry the word. And he says, look, you're you you are deserving of your heart, so take nothing, not even sandals. Now you try walking around Israel in your bare feet sometime and not even a walking stick. Try when you're on a long hike, a walking stick is a very helpful thing.
He says, you don't even take that. So this is a very serious commission he's to is giving his disciples. And he says, go into every town and village. But then notice, bless them. And if they are properly prepared, the blessing will stick.
And if not, it's going to come back to you. In other words, Christ is telling his disciples, look, I'm giving you a solemn command that you're to go out and spread the good word, but there are going to be some people who are not going to accept it. Well, don't waste your time. Get out of the place. Shake even the dust off your feet.
Forget it. Now, there is another statement of our blessed lord harsher than this one. Harsher I mean because some people have an idea that in a that they're even supposed to to back up a losing cause, an impossible situation. That's a very not an uncommon attitude. That come hell or high water, you have to stick to your guns.
Christ never said that. Here's one instance of what Christ said, go do what you can and you're going to find some people who will turn a deaf ear, Forget them. Shake the dust of their town off your feet. Have nothing more to do with them. Harsh words?
Well, he spoke something more harsh than that. On another occasion, he told his disciples, don't throw your pearls before swine. Now that's pretty strong language to Jews. In other words, there are we're not we're not called upon to be masochists. We are not called upon to throw our lives and our energies, faculties, our resources to the dogs.
Now this has a has a wide application. Education, social work, you name it. Even the attempt to make converts. Are we supposed to try even when we know we're butting our heads against a stone wall? Well, I've whenever I've you've seen little kids batting their heads against the wall, but there we say that's childish.
We try to correct them. Well, some adults never cease doing it. And these are our Lord's own words. Don't cast your pearls before swine. In other words, don't waste your effort.
There are in situations where you can't do anything about it. Don't try. Get out. Retreat. Fly away.
Get on your 747. These are our lord's own words. I've I've there's certainly one instance of my own life when I saw them used and the results weren't too good. But our our blessed lord seek his doctrine in so many so many ways, not in every way, in so many ways is just plain common sense. And so the message today, I think has an application.
Don't forget that first reading about Joseph. I have a particular interest in that young man. But we can learn a great deal from him about love. But notice his brethren when they come, they've had a change of heart for well, I don't let's not go into their motives, but there has been a change of heart. At least among some of them.
And what they did was horrible because some of them meant to kill him. And so there you have this idea of allegiance, loyalty, fidelity. There's no bitterness, there's no hatred. There's no thought of revenge on the part of Joseph. Even while he pretends to be there there an alien and a foreigner who holds in his hand their whole their whole people.
They came to him for food to eat an Egyptian because they were starving. And he turns away and weeps. That's a very touching story. But to come back to what what our blessed lord says today, and I that's what I want to certainly in in prayer. It's a thought that occurs to me this morning is this idea that we must use our what god has given us, our faculties, our talents, our vocation, the threat we're we we think how this applies to parents and that how they deal with children who are sometimes what do we say rebellious and so forth.
Our blessed Lord never said we were supposed to go out and commit suicide in a metaphorical sense of the word, never, nor in the nor in the literal sense. He says, don't, he says here when they won't listen to you, leave them. They're lost. And notice he he says they're going to be penalized. He says the situation is gonna be worse for them than it was for Sodom and Gomorrah and they were totally destroyed.
And then tack on here that other statement of our blessed lord, don't throw your pearls before us. Why? They'll just be lost forever. In the name of the father and of the son and holy spirit, amen.