Give me neither poverty nor riches;
provide me only with the food I need.
[from today's reading]
Perhaps the words of other spiritual writers might come to mind after reading these Proverb words: moderation in all things. Whatever, the author of Proverbs is clear: don't give me too little nor too much. He does not want to be full. Having too much, he believes, might easily bring the very real human experience of forgetting about God. At the same time he does not want to be living in poverty and want lest he feel driven to cheat, to steal, and "to profane the name" of his God.
Today's gospel reading offers another well-used spiritual gem: "In medias res stat virtus." All you Latin scholars know that this sentence translates literally as "In the middle stands virtue." You will not find these words in the gospel reading but it is the message from Jesus to his disciples.
He sends them out on their mission, just as he sends each of us each day: go without a lot of extra "things." He tells his representatives that they don't need food, money or even extra clothing. But they are to understand that he is not sending them without something. He provides all that they might need: power and authority over all demons and the sickness.
Imagine for a moment what Jesus would say to most of us when we travel whether on "mission" or "vacation" were he to scan our baggage at the airport or train station or what we carry in the trunks of our autos.
Jesus sends us, like the disciples, each day in the spirit of our baptism and the creed we profess at the beginning of each week. Surely we do need food and clothing and tools for our work and most likely a means of transportation. Likewise, we do NOT need the excess that can bring us to construct our own idols that separate us from our God.
Ah, discernment!
Photo: Amanda Dennis
