On the feast of St Luke the Evangelist, Fr Prodencio Bognay, Assistant Priest at St Agnes’ Catholic Parish, reads from the Gospel of Luke (10: 1-9) in which Jesus appoints 72 and sends them like lambs among wolves.
“I am sending you like lambs among wolves”. Fr Prodencio says, we can just imagine that during the time of the apostles (and the evangelist Luke, whose feast we celebrate today) these words were more literal compared to nowadays. The early Christians had to endure the pains and hassle of introducing Christianity to communities that have religions already. They had to convince people with a certain set of beliefs already about the kingdom of God which was introduced by Jesus Christ. It is no surprise then that Jesus, himself, knew and understood that his followers would have to endure becoming like lambs among predators if the message of the kingdom of God has to be proclaimed. Nowadays, we no longer see other people having a different set of beliefs as predators. However, the words of Jesus still remain valid. Being sent ‘like lambs’ implies that we are sent to spread the message about gentleness, meekness and most of all, driven by charity. The message about the good news of the kingdom of God has to be proclaimed always in a gentle, meek and charitable way. In closing , Fr Prodencio says it has nothing to do with choosing to be a victim. It is rather about the joy of doing things in the most loving way. May we then continue our mission in a way that we act like lambs among wolves.
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