“Without cost you have received; without
cost you are to give.” (Matthew
10:7-15)
Our special God-given
talents are free gifts. They aren’t
there to make us feel good about ourselves, but to be used for the benefit of
others.
Although
most of us worked pretty hard to develop the skills and abilities that we
possess, as well as for the money we’ve earned, it’s easy to forget that the
very capacity to work, the chance to better ourselves and to learn – even the
aptitude or desire to do so – are gifts that we didn’t create.
Most
basically, our very life is itself a gift. When we wake up in the morning, we should
thank God for making us, for holding us in existence, for saving us; we should
ask how we can use this gift of life today to help others. And when we fall asleep at night, we should
thank God for sustaining us through the day and ask whether we’ve done enough. The answer will almost always be “No, not
nearly enough.” But the more we put on
the mind of Christ, the closer we’ll come. Because then, as St. Paul says: “It
is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” (Galatians 2:20)
“Without cost you have received…”
What’s the cost of the Gospel? The
answer is that it’s of infinite value.
We could never afford it monetarily speaking. The Gospel is priceless.
“Without cost you are to give.”
This tells us that we’re to offer the Gospel to others free of
charge. But this action of freely giving
the Gospel brings with it a sort of hidden requirement. The giving of the Gospel requires that we
give of ourselves. And that means we
must give of ourselves freely. What’s
the justification for giving everything of ourselves freely? The justification is that we have received
everything “without cost.”
The simple
fact is that the Gospel is all about a total free gift to us which requires a
total free gift of ourselves to others.
The Gospel is a person, Jesus Christ.
And when He comes and lives in us freely, we must then become a total
and free gift to others.
Jesus tells
us that the Kingdom (“Paradise”) is near, and in the next sentence, gives us
our assignments: cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out
demons. Three times in Matthew’s Gospel
Jesus gives us the same message: "The Kingdom of God
is at hand.” At hand indicates ‘nearby.’ Jesus wants us to understand not that the end
of our lives is near, but that the Kingdom is near. So near that all we have to do is realize we’re
in it now.
Paradise is a
place, in fact, we’re already in. How
many chances a day are we given to recognize this; an opportunity to practice
sacred presence? We find Paradise by
opening our hearts to the people around us.
By recognizing how sacred and beloved by God each person we meet really
is, it changes our interactions.
We already
have all we need. Jesus cautions us against feeling we need some special
equipment or training: “Do not take gold or silver or copper
for your belts; no sack for the journey, or a second tunic, or sandals, or
walking stick.”
We have what
we need to be in the Kingdom, except an awareness of that. It takes practice to be aware. Each morning we can ask Jesus for the focus
and open heart to really encounter each person we come across. In the smallest interaction, we can look into
the eyes of the person we’re with, as we really see the person, the life before
us, recognizing the person before us is as beloved by God as deeply as we are
beloved. That’s when miracles can
begin. Healing of the sick, might mean
reaching out to someone we’re angry with or who annoys us. It might mean healing of our impatience with
others. Our mindful love for others
might cleanse the lepers of judgement and drive out demons of anger.
There’s a
beautiful passage in Hosea that offers an image of God loving as deeply as a
parent. “When
Israel was a child I loved him… It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, who took
them in my arms.” And in a phrase that is inexplicably moving,
God assures us, “I drew them with human cords, with bands
of love,” and gives
us the image of tenderly raising an infant to his cheeks. (Hosea 11:1-4, 8-9)
God’s love
for us isn’t an intellectual situation but a personal love for us as
individuals. We’re loved by God beyond
what we can comprehend, Jesus invites us into a taste of sharing that kind of
love by being present and being aware of the sacredness in this present
moment. "Whatever
town or village you enter, look for a worthy person in it,” Jesus tell us, but in the world and
love of Jesus, every person is a worthy person.
And so,
Jesus advises, “wish them peace.” He's telling us that while He’s merciful and
loving towards all of us by His Nature, He won't force that mercy and love upon
us if we don't want it. I think when He
tells His Apostles, "As you enter a house, wish it peace.
If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; if not, let your peace
return to you.",
He’s letting off a little steam at those who continually reject His offers of
mercy and love. It's like having the
last two tickets to a big ball game and you want to invite a friend, and the
friend says, "No, thanks, I'd rather go with someone else!" Your first reaction would be, "Are you
sure you don't want to go?" If the
friend refused a second time your answer would be, "OK, screw it! I'll
find someone who wants to share in my good fortune!"
Peace be
with you!
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