Big emergency, for little Name

(Mt 10:1-7)

"These twelve Jesus sent after he had commanded them, saying, 'Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter the cities of the Samaritans - but go rather to the lost sheep of the House of Israel.

The proclamation of the new Faith needed breathing space; yet it was to find a dense fire of interdiction, very tenacious, precisely from the frequenters of the ingrained and habitual religiosity - linked to the ideology of power.

The first restriction to Israel had become necessary, precisely in order to uncover the most dangerous devotion: the empty and closed devotion of the synagogue, which - accustomed to the expectation of the extraordinary outside - now waited for nothing authentic to arouse it.

But the meaning of vv.5-6 is also very profound from a personal point of view, and concerns not only the initial restriction to the Chosen People of the Messianic Revelation, of the explicit universalistic openness, or of the Mission.

None of the Apostles were in themselves worthy of the Call; yet they were called, and could accept their Mandate - as if it were already perfect!

Most of them have names typical of Judaism, even from the time of the patriarchs - which indicates a cultural and spiritual background rooted more in religion than in Faith not easy to deal with.

Peter was eager to come forward, but also often backtracked (backtracked) to the point of becoming a 'satan' for Jesus [in the culture of the ancient East, an official of the great ruler, sent to act as a controller and delator - practically an accuser]. James of Zebedee and John were brothers, ardent fundamentalists, and hysterically wanted the Master only for themselves. Philip did not seem a very practical fellow, nor quick-witted or trained to grasp the things of God. Andrew, on the other hand, seemed to do well: an inclusive person. Bartholomew was probably open but perplexed, because the Messiah did not correspond to him much. Thomas was a little in and a little out. Matthew a collaborator, greedy accomplice of the oppressive system. Simon the Canaanite a hothead. Judas Iscariot a self-destructor, trusting the old spiritual guides, imbued with a nationalist ideology, self-interest, opportunism and power. Two others (James son of Alphaeus and Judas Thaddeus) perhaps mere disciples of no great prominence or capacity for initiative.

But the Kingdom is "near" [v.7: "has come near"]: God is in our history - already experienced in the early days, in his first community of sons.

In ancient devotion, the idea of a distant God produced separations, pyramidal hierarchies, the cultivation of inner-circle interests (passed off as great sensitivity and altruism).

The idea of an Eternal leader and avenger allowed a priestly class to proliferate, which instead of conciliating and integrating, neglected and abandoned the irrelevant.

The belief in a divine Presence linked to material abundance dulled minds and the ability to read Redemption.

[The idea of advantage and disadvantage, prosperity and penury, always originate in us or in the conventional mindset, of opinions].

Therefore, it is essential to mature first, wherever we live.

For not infrequently there are less than noble motives for wanting to reach everywhere, to run everywhere (to proselytise), to spread, to increase, and to do so at once.

The man or club of many lusts projects them; and frequently procures in himself or elsewhere his own murky influences.

Concealed infidelities, which, by not proposing simplicity of life and values of the spirit, drive away, building other temples and shrines.

The charge of genuine universality is contained in the rootedness to values, as well as in the knowledge of one's own shortcomings.

Virtuous principles and hidden sides are complementary energetic aspects, and will bear fruit in their own time; in the round.

We must take this deeply, without fatuous projections, even in the unexpressed sides.

In short, it seems a paradox, but openness to the heathen is a purely internal problem.

It is from oneself and from the community that one looks at the world. Not from the too exotic - at least in the first instance.

It is the Way of the Intimate that seriously penetrates the way of the peripheries. Indeed, it is only by loving strength that one prefers to start from the too distant.

One must first heal and complete that which is near.

After all, one who is not free and aware cannot liberate, nor convince - or drag - reality.

The only way then to peer far is to stick to the reason of things, a principle that one knows if not misled by the dispersion of the (even sacred) society of the outside.

Understanding the nature of oneself and of creatures, and conforming to it increasingly, in one's own development, all are inspired to complete and transmute.

This also enriches any cultural sclerosis, without alienating forcing.Thus, exercising a practice of goodness first with oneself... to heal the hardships of others' souls - having known them from within.

For the Tao Tê Ching [XLVII] says:

"Without going out the door, you know the world; without looking out the window, you glimpse the Way to Heaven. The farther you go, the less you know. That is why the saint does not go around and yet knows, does not see and yet discerns, does not act and yet completes.

Only from the Source of being springs a saved life. (It would be harmful to put the cart before the horse).

Are we a sign of dedication and striving people? Without being a sect, after a good formation, inclusive of opposites: integrating faults, bad moments, and intelligence about one's moods.

Not to distinguish the moment of the Calling from that of the Sending.

The Way to Heaven is intertwined with the Way of the Person, not of excellence; not of models - or we will be "fishermen" by the wayside.

The Kingdom has come near and by Name, from the very beginning (vv.2-4): there is no authentic and healing Mission more incisive.

To internalise and live the message:

In your experience, what chain has united Heaven and earth?

The list and effort of transgressions to be neurotically corrected, or a personal Calling, inclusive of your many faces of the soul - a Vocation supported by a Church that became an echo and a free Source of all-round understanding?