St. Jerome
September 30, 2004 Memorial of St. Jerome
Jesus has started recruiting disciples for His new church. Today he has appointed seventy-two. He’s sending them out into the field in pairs to the towns and places He plans to visit. He tells them “behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves.”
We know that the Holy Land was a dangerous place in Jesus’ time, what with the robbers, and the Roman soldiers. Plus, Jesus had more than His share of enemies. So He sends the seventy-two on ahead. They’re His advance party. If everything goes well, then Jesus will follow.
He tells them that when anyone welcomes them, they should accept their hospitality, cure the sick and tell them that “The Kingdom of God is at hand for you.” That’s why they call it preaching the ‘good news.’
But if anyone doesn’t welcome them, then they should go out into the street and shake the dust off their sandals. Their message: “The Kingdom of God is at hand, but not for you.” It will be better for Sodom on that day than it will be for you. No wonder He had them travel in pairs.
Imagine how strong those seventy-two’s faith must have been. They were willing to go out into dangerous territory with no money bag, no sack, no sandals. They were to approach total strangers with Jesus’ message, knowing very well that they could be killed at any time. If they weren’t invited in for dinner, then they had to tell those people basically that they were going to Hell. Better for Sodom than for you.
Over the years we’ve been taught that Jesus and His disciples were kind, loving, peaceful people, which I’m sure they were. But being a disciple was no job for wimps. It was hard work and it was dangerous. Following Christ has never been easy.
Today is the Memorial of St. Jerome. Jerome was a Doctor of the Church. That means he was a smart guy. Jerome’s claim to fame is that he translated the Bible into Latin. He was also a monk. He lived alone in the desert for many years.
In two weeks, I will be going to Gethsemani, Kentucky to spend a week with the Trappist monks. There’s another group of Christ’s followers who haven’t chosen the easy path. Their life consists of work and prayer. Their day starts at 3:15 in the morning with the Vigil prayer. They meet in the chapel seven times each day for the Liturgy of the Hours and attend mass. In between they work, pray and study.
It’s amazing how peaceful it is and how happy they all seem to be. But, it’s definitely a life that most of us wouldn’t choose. But, if you offered one of them a chance to live the our lifestyle, they wouldn’t even consider it. Their commute to work is a walk down a long corridor. The only bill they have is their tax bill. There is no television and no radio. They do have access to newspapers, but I don’t know if they read them or not. The thing I find interesting is that there are young men there. There are still people who are just as willing to follow Christ as there were 2,000 years ago when the seventy-two set out in pairs to go ahead of Him.
So, as we prepare to receive Him in the Eucharist, ask yourself, what are you willing to do for Him? And, remember what He did for us.
Jesus has started recruiting disciples for His new church. Today he has appointed seventy-two. He’s sending them out into the field in pairs to the towns and places He plans to visit. He tells them “behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves.”
We know that the Holy Land was a dangerous place in Jesus’ time, what with the robbers, and the Roman soldiers. Plus, Jesus had more than His share of enemies. So He sends the seventy-two on ahead. They’re His advance party. If everything goes well, then Jesus will follow.
He tells them that when anyone welcomes them, they should accept their hospitality, cure the sick and tell them that “The Kingdom of God is at hand for you.” That’s why they call it preaching the ‘good news.’
But if anyone doesn’t welcome them, then they should go out into the street and shake the dust off their sandals. Their message: “The Kingdom of God is at hand, but not for you.” It will be better for Sodom on that day than it will be for you. No wonder He had them travel in pairs.
Imagine how strong those seventy-two’s faith must have been. They were willing to go out into dangerous territory with no money bag, no sack, no sandals. They were to approach total strangers with Jesus’ message, knowing very well that they could be killed at any time. If they weren’t invited in for dinner, then they had to tell those people basically that they were going to Hell. Better for Sodom than for you.
Over the years we’ve been taught that Jesus and His disciples were kind, loving, peaceful people, which I’m sure they were. But being a disciple was no job for wimps. It was hard work and it was dangerous. Following Christ has never been easy.
Today is the Memorial of St. Jerome. Jerome was a Doctor of the Church. That means he was a smart guy. Jerome’s claim to fame is that he translated the Bible into Latin. He was also a monk. He lived alone in the desert for many years.
In two weeks, I will be going to Gethsemani, Kentucky to spend a week with the Trappist monks. There’s another group of Christ’s followers who haven’t chosen the easy path. Their life consists of work and prayer. Their day starts at 3:15 in the morning with the Vigil prayer. They meet in the chapel seven times each day for the Liturgy of the Hours and attend mass. In between they work, pray and study.
It’s amazing how peaceful it is and how happy they all seem to be. But, it’s definitely a life that most of us wouldn’t choose. But, if you offered one of them a chance to live the our lifestyle, they wouldn’t even consider it. Their commute to work is a walk down a long corridor. The only bill they have is their tax bill. There is no television and no radio. They do have access to newspapers, but I don’t know if they read them or not. The thing I find interesting is that there are young men there. There are still people who are just as willing to follow Christ as there were 2,000 years ago when the seventy-two set out in pairs to go ahead of Him.
So, as we prepare to receive Him in the Eucharist, ask yourself, what are you willing to do for Him? And, remember what He did for us.
posted by Mike at 7:45 PM
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