Tuesday, June 11, 2013
10th Sunday in
Ordinary Time
St. Barnabas, Apostle
1st Reading: Acts 11:21b–26; 13:1–3
Gospel: Mt 10:7–13
Jesus said to his disciples, “Go and proclaim this message: The kingdom of heaven is near. Heal the sick, bring the dead back to life, cleanse the lepers, and drive out demons. You received this as a gift, so give it as a gift. Do not carry any gold, silver or copper in your purses. Do not carry a traveler’s bag, or an extra shirt, or sandals, or walking stick: workers deserve their living. “When you come to a town or a village, look for a worthy person and stay there until you leave.
“As you enter the house, wish it peace. If the people in the house deserve it, your peace will be on them; if they do not deserve it, your blessing will come back to you.”
D@iGITAL… EXPERIENCE
Daily Gospel in the Assimilated Life Experience
Jesus advised his disciples against bringing with them basic provisions to the mission areas because he wanted the locals to be involved. The same call for collaboration applies today. Without the laity’s material support, missionaries will be busy worrying about what to eat. A hand-to-mouth existence can also make a missionary break down over minor challenges. A joke is told of a doctor who told his patient in jest that salted fish fry (bagoong) and not lechon is the leading cause of high blood pressure. The doctor explained: “Try coming home hungry and exhausted from work and find nothing but salted fish fry on your table. Tell me if your blood pressure will not shoot up!”
Jesus would like missionaries to be free from the anguish of material misery so that they can give full attention to the flock. St. Paul wrote, “He who does not work should not eat.” Conversely, he who works should be allowed to eat. Lay people do the Lord a great service by volunteering to feed their missionaries.
The work in the vineyard is two-pronged – one pertaining to missionaries offering their lives to God by working in his vineyard, and another pertaining to lay people providing material support to missionaries. (This is the least that lay people can do; others have even joined missionary expeditions as lay missionaries). Because the latter is indispensable to the success of the mission, one may not be excused therefrom, not even on the ground of poverty. No one is too poor as to be incapable of helping. If salted fish fry is all that one can contribute, such contribution is as valid as the millions contributed by rich people. What is important is the realization that working in the vineyard is not only the responsibility of missionaries but also of the laity. — Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., DM. Email: [email protected]. Website: www.frdan.org.
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