Our Holy Father Cyril, Archbishop of Alexandria (444)
Romans 8:2-13; Matthew 10:16-22
Apostles’ Fast. Abstention from meat and foods that contain meat
Read Matthew 10:16-22
I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.
Stepping out in the midst of wolves is a fantastic image of one of the aspects of bringing the Good News to the world. Vulnerability. Not many of us think about this in revealing the Gospel of our Lord. We want to go out and just blare the message like a trumpet sounding in the wilderness. Perhaps the greatest revelation of our Lord was when He was hung on the Cross. Truly, He was the Son of God! Like a lamb being led to the slaughter, so our Lord was led to the Cross – voluntarily and with great vulnerability.
What is vulnerability? The dictionary states that it is the quality or state of being exposed to the possibility of being attacked or harmed, either physically or emotionally. It means that something is so important in my life that I am willing to risk being personally attacked in some manner. In terms of the mission of bringing the Good News to the world, it means not only bringing the message ABOUT our Lord Jesus and His salvific work, but it also means sharing with others who our Lord is to ME and to US (the Body of Christ).
Being wise as serpents and innocent as doves along with vulnerability means that we remain simple and unmixed. Personal motives give way to the glory of God at all times. As St. Paul put it in his words to Timothy, “preach the word, be urgent in season and out of season, convince, rebuke, and exhort, be unfailing in patience and in teaching” (2 Tim 4:2).