CFE 103 Module 1, Lesson 1 Inspired Word (PDF)

COURSE LEARNING PACKETS Document Code FM-STL-014 Saint Louis University Revision No. 01 School of Teacher Education and Liberal Arts Effectivity...

COURSE LEARNING PACKETS Document Code FM-STL-014 Saint Louis University Revision No. 01 School of Teacher Education and Liberal Arts Effectivity June 07, 2021 Page 1 of 3 INSPIRED WORD OF GOD Read the following Biblical text coming from the Gospel of Luke 10:1-9. Consider the following guide questions as you read: 1. Who is being sent, and who is sending? 2. What are the things supposed to be done by those who are being sent? 3. What ideas about the mission are present in the text? Jesus sends seventy-two followers (Lk. 10:1-9) After this, the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place he was about to go. And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore, pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs among wolves. Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house!’ And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you. And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages. Do not go from house to house. Whenever you enter a town, and they receive you, eat what is set before you. Heal the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ The Bible presents to us several concepts of mission. In the text, the Gospel writer Luke tells us that Jesus sends his disciples to do something. Sending is an integral part of the Christian idea of mission. We do so when we go on a mission because somebody sends us. The mission, therefore, does not belong to us. We are mere collaborators of the one sending us. Where to go on a mission and how the mission is done depends not on us but also on sending us. In the story you just read, he sent his disciples and gave them instructions on how to go about the mission. Jesus uses the analogy of the workers in the field to describe missionaries and what they do. The workers are sent to harvest the crops and gather them in the granary. In like manner, missionaries as workers are tasked to gather people into fellowship with God.  COURSE LEARNING PACKETS Document Code FM-STL-014 Saint Louis University Revision No. 01 School of Teacher Education and Liberal Arts Effectivity June 07, 2021 Page 2 of 3 There are few of these workers, so Jesus tells his disciples: “A large crop is in the fields, but there are only a few workers. Ask the Lord in charge of the harvest to send out workers to bring the harvest in.” The story proceeds, and we hear a piece of advice or a warning from the workers: “Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs among wolves.” Lambs are never safe in a pack of wolves. The wolves will devour the lambs! To be a Christian missionary in ancient times meant to live a dangerous life. Many Christian missionaries suffered martyrdom for the faith. In our times, some places are not any safer for missionaries. We still hear people getting killed because they are Christians. To do missionary work is not easy because there will always be opposition from others. Then comes a puzzling instruction from the sender: “Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road.” The first part of the instruction about not taking along moneybags, knapsacks, or sandals is related to the second part about not wasting time. A moneybag, a knapsack, or a pair of sandals may become a burden or a distraction to the missionary who is supposed to be concerned only with the mission. He always has to carry and protect his money or bag, repair his sandals, or look for another pair if they get worn out. His focus is no longer on the mission that is urgent and the only important thing for the missionary. These things are the least of his concerns. The passage tells us certain essential things about the Christian as a missionary – and about each of us who are, by our humanity, concerned with the welfare of others. Here they are: The missionary should not be cluttered with material things; he is to travel light. It is easy to get entangled in the things of this life. Our material possession can cloud our vision if we are not careful. Instead of helping us to become more accessible, they can enslave us. For example, if you are obsessed with buying a smartphone worth P50,000.00 but do not have the means to buy it, you will have some problems. And if you could buy it at last by availing yourself of a loan, you will have to guard it with all your might so that you won’t lose it. It is like your phone has taken control of part of your life. The missionary concentrates on his task; he is to “greet no man on the way.” This goes back to Elisha's instruction to Gehazi in 2 Kings 4:29. It is not an instruction to discourtesy but means that the Christian must not turn aside or linger on the lesser things while the tremendous or more essential things call him. Look back and think about the times you busied yourself with the less important things and neglected the more important ones. Many of us are guilty when it comes to this. The missionary must not work for what he can get out of it; he eats what is put before him and does not move from house to house, seeking better and more comfortable quarters. The laborer is worthy of his wage, but the faithful servant of the faith cannot be a seeker of luxury. Sometimes we do things for the sake of convenience and comfort. But there is a better reason for doing the good and the honorable: the Gospel's call to be on the side of truth and goodness no matter the cost. It isn't easy, of course, but that is the missionary call.  COURSE LEARNING PACKETS Document Code FM-STL-014 Saint Louis University Revision No. 01 School of Teacher Education and Liberal Arts Effectivity June 07, 2021 Page 3 of 3 To have heard God's word is a great responsibility. Persons will be judged according to what they have had the chance to know. Knowing something is a privilege. As is usually said, it is also power. But knowing as a form of privilege and power is also a responsibility. We do not do our responsibility if we know the truth and do not speak up at the cost of letting lies reign. This is a challenge for us today, especially for the younger generation, because a good part of your world is the world of the web, where false news can quickly multiply. To state and defend the truth when you know it is a crucial part of the missionary and the human in you. But what is the mission? What is the missionary sent to do? The last verse (verse 9) tells us, “Heal their sick and say, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’” The mission is the proclamation of God’s kingdom. There is a part of your course in CFE 101, if you still remember, that deals with the concept of the kingdom of God. In the later part of the present course, we will go back to that. But for this module, suffice it to say that when we talk about the kingdom of God, we refer to that situation where God reigns in our community or society because the values of charity, justice, and peace are lived or practiced by people. In other words, the kingdom refers to total human well-being, which includes the significant experience of healing from all forms of illness. In Biblical anthropology, healing includes non-physical restoration like healing relationships, emotional healing, and others.