Like lambs among wolves
One of the insights I received is there is not much difference in the people you meet in the world of business and those in the world of church ministry. Most of us are driven by ego and ambition. I have also met saints in both worlds.
Therefore when I read this week’s Gospel, of Jesus giving instructions to the seventy two disciples he was sending on mission, in Luke 10 ‘I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Carry no purse, no haversack, no sandals. Salute no one on the road.’ I found it to be wise advice for life.
Jesus was urging them to travel light and depend entirely on the hospitality of others and the providence of God and be wary of the wolves you would meet along the way. It reminds me of a song from my teenage years:
Smiling faces sometimes
Pretend to be your friend
Smiling faces show no traces
Of the evil that lurks within
Jesus was urging his disciples to travel light in this world, to focus on the bare necessities as Baloo said to Mowgli “Look for the bare necessities - The simple bare necessities.
By living light we curb the urging of the ego and ambition. So many of our errors, anxiety and stress can be traced to the motivation to achieve power, wealth and the admiration of others.
The phrase ‘Salute no one on the road’ reminds me of the advice of Gepetto to Pinocchio. Jesus is advising us to not get distracted from our mission by following this one and that, to be narrowly focused on the mission of building the kingdom.
Over the course of my life’s journey so many persons have tried to lead me along their way. When I look back I can recognize the powerful hand of grace that have thwarted their schemes. I remember a proverb - when you are searching for a bird, do not be distracted by the butterflies you see along the path.
As fellow missionary disciples let us take Jesus’ advice to heart in our ministry, however humble it may be. Let us travel light in this world, not overly consumed by wealth, and let us be wary of those who would distract us from our mission of building the kingdom. A life such as this is truly a joyful one.
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Often we consider the Kingdom of God as a goal that we seek to attain as we march through life from cradle to grave. And that is true. And we have to be careful of the wolves, dressed as lambs that we meet in our lifetime.
But another way that Jesus talks about the Kingdom of God is when he says that the Kingdom of God is at hand, that it’s right here .
And I think that Christian meditation is one way to access the Kingdom of God that is at hand. But even in that discipline, there are wolves disguised as sheep. These are the thoughts, distractions, emotions that take us away from the mantra.
Meditation is not a passive nor a restful exercise. It is actually quite a demanding discipline
John Main, who re-introduced Christian meditation to the West summed it up by saying there’s only one primary rule in Christian meditation: repeat your mantra.
Similar to the number one law that Jesus proclaimed : love God with all your heart your soul and your mind. The rest is secondary.