Opposing Forces?

"...be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves..."

16 “Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves. 17 [a]But beware of people, for they will hand you over to courts and scourge you in their synagogues, 18 and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake as a witness before them and the pagans. 19 When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say. You will be given at that moment what you are to say. 20 For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. 21 [b]Brother will hand over brother to death, and the father his child; children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. 22 You will be hated by all because of my name, but whoever endures to the end[c] will be saved. 23 When they persecute you in one town, flee to another. Amen, I say to you, you will not finish the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.[d]-Matthew10:16-23

"...be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves..." Is it possible? Can we be shrewd as serpents, yet remaining simple as doves? Yes, we can! Jesus is not saying we embrace our wickedness along with goodness at the same time. Shrewdness is not a bad attitude, on the contrary, it can complement and boost goodness to far far places. I actually remembered Harry Potter and Voldemort. Both are great wizards, but each is in a different path. One is great but evil. The other is great and good. If greatness is given to us, which path are we going to choose? Jesus today is inviting us to be strong and firm in times of difficulty especially if our faith is put to the test. And, to appreciate the greatest gift of freely practicing our faith.

Image courtesy: artist

 

Shrewd and Prudent

Very shrewd indeed.

Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. 2 So he called him in and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.’

3 “The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to beg— 4 I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.’

5 “So he called in each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’

6 “‘Nine hundred gallons of olive oil,’ he replied.

“The manager told him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred and fifty.’

7 “Then he asked the second, ‘And how much do you owe?’

“‘A thousand bushels of wheat,’ he replied.

“He told him, ‘Take your bill and make it eight hundred.’

8 “The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light.-Luke16:1-8

When I read the first few lines of the Gospel, the writer in me thought, "Yeah. Yeah. I know the story. The manager was fired. He begged for forgiveness. He was pardoned. He learned his lesson and became a better manager (or steward). Happy ending." But the parable is different. The manager added another work of dishonesty by reducing and manipulating the debts of some people. From 900 gallons of olive oil, it was reduced to 450. From a thousand bushels of wheat, it was reduced to 800. Who wouldn't love the man? Jesus is not encouraging us to be dishonest. Jesus is still encouraging us to be honest and transparent in our work. But how come the master commended the dishonest manager for acting shrewdly?

Yesterday's Gospel reading spoke also of the woman who lost a coin. Because it was important to her, she lighted a candle and swept the entire room, searching carefully for it. Perhaps she was unmindful of the lateness of the night nor the darkness because what is more important is to find the coin. I shared also my experience of being a victim of an online fraud. Because my savings are important to me, I immediately visited my bank and processed everything. In a different time, I would have disregarded bank matters like promos, notices, newsletters, etc. but because my savings are at stake, I took actions immediately and quickly even sacrificing other important things. Yes, if something is important, we took pains in protecting it. We become aggressive, bold, shrewd, cautious, prudent just so that we protect our possessions and even loved ones.

But, notice that we are not like that in matters of the Lord. Some can put off attending Mass if they don't feel like it. Some can put off repentance if it meant sacrificing a favorite sin. Some can put off change if it meant losing friends, family or peers. Some can even be oblivious (or pretend to be one) to a suffering neighbor right before their noses.

Why not we be shrewd and prudent, as well, in the matters of the Lord?

Image courtesy: various artists; Godfried Schalcken (Parable of the Lost Piece of Silver)