LAMBS, SERPENTS, AND
DOVES
“Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the
midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves”
(Matt. 10:16)
Those whom
Jesus sent out to the conquest of souls were rustic countrymen, but they could
be mild as sheep, wary as serpents, simple as doves—sheep without cowardice,
serpents without poison, doves without lustfulness. Wise meaning not sly. But
quickness of thought, discerning, very cautious. The serpents’ wisdom ends when
it becomes vicious. It is impossible to be harmless as a dove without the
serpent for a dove's simplicity ends when it becomes careless.
To be
stripped of everything was the first duty of such soldiers. Seeking the poor,
they should be poorer than the poor. And yet not beggars, for the laborer is
worthy of his hire; the bread of life which they were to distribute to those
hungering for justice deserved wheat bread in return. The laborers should set
out on their wonderful work destitute of possessions, taking nothing for their
journey save a staff only, no scrip, no bread, and no money in their purse.
They should be shod with sandals, clad in a single garment. The metals are a
burden which weighs down the soul. The sheen of gold makes men forget the sun's
splendor; the sheen of silver makes them forget the splendor of the stars; the
sheen of copper makes them forget the splendor of fire. He who deals with
metals weds himself to the earth and is bound fast to the earth. He does not
know Heaven, and Heaven does not recognize him. (Matt. 10:10)
It is not enough to preach love of poverty to the poor, or to talk to
them about the sumptuous beauty of poverty. The poor do not believe the words
of the rich until the rich willingly become poor. The Disciples destined to
preach the beauty of poverty to both poor and rich were to set an example of
happy poverty to every man in every house on every day. They were to carry
nothing with them except the clothes on their backs and the sandals on their
feet. They were to accept nothing; only the small piece of daily bread which
they would find on the tables of their hosts. The wandering priests of the
goddess Siria and of other Oriental divinities carried with them, along with
the sacred images, the wallet for offerings, the bag for alms, because common
people do not value things which cost them nothing. The apostles of Jesus, on
the contrary, were to refuse any gift or payment, "Freely ye have received, freely give." (Matt. 10:8) And
as one of the disguises of wealth is merchandise, the messengers of the Kingdom
were to renounce even a change of garments, sandals and staff; were to dispense
with everything except the barest essentials.
They were to
enter into the houses, open to all in a country where the locks and bolts of
fear were not yet known, and which preserved some remembrance of nomad
hospitality—they were to speak to the men and the women who lived there. Their
duty was to announce that the Kingdom of Heaven was at hand, to explain in what
way the kingdom of earth could become the Kingdom of Heaven, and to explain the
one condition for this happy fulfilling of all the prophecies,—repentance,
conversion, and transformation of the soul. As a proof that they were sent by
One who had the authority to demand this change, they had power to heal the
sick, to drive away with their words unclean spirits,—that is, the demons, and
the vices which make men like demons. Their words were substantiated by their
actions.
They
commanded men to renew their souls and at once with all the power which had
been given them they aided them to commence this renovation (Luke 9:1). They
did not leave them alone with this command, so difficult to execute. After the
prophetic word, "The Kingdom is at
hand," they began their labors; they worked to restore, to cleanse, and
to make over these souls which had been abandoned by their rightful shepherds.
They explained what it was necessary to do to be worthy of the new Heaven on
earth and they lent a hand at once to the work. In short, to complete the
paradox they assassinated and brought to life. They killed the old Adam in
every convert, but their words were the baptism of the second birth. Pilgrims
without purses or bundles, they carried with them truth and life,—peace.
"And when ye come into a house salute
it," and this was the salutation, "Peace
be with you." (Matt. 12:12) Those who received them gained peace,
those who rejected them continued their bitter warfare. Coming away from the
house or from the city which had not received them, they were to shake the dust
from their feet, not because the dust of the houses and of the cities of those
who were not willing to hear them was contaminated, but because shaking it from
their feet is a symbolic answer to their deafness and close-fistedness of soul.
You have refused all, and we will not accept anything from you, not even the
dust which clings to our sandals. Because you, made of dust and fated to return
to dust as you are, will not give a moment of your time, nor a piece of your
bread, we leave behind us the dust of your streets, down to the least grain.
(Matt. 12:14)
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