6-12-20 - Wise As Serpents

You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.

Adversity is part of the deal when we become ministers of the Gospel, especially when we invite people to re-examine long-standing beliefs and traditions. Jesus uses a potent image to warn his disciples about the challenges they will face as they proceed:

“See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of them, for they will hand you over to councils and flog you in their synagogues; and you will be dragged before governors and kings because of me, as a testimony to them and the Gentiles.”

The “wolves” in this scenario are Jesus’ fellow Jews, in particular those religious leaders benefiting from the status quo. Jesus knew they would oppose him and put obstacles in the way of his followers. He suggests meeting opposition with both cunning and transparency, a tricky combination.

It’s not hard to fathom what it means to be “innocent as doves” – it means to have an agenda of peace and goodwill, to be straightforward about your message and your aim. As we think of talking about our faith or introducing people to Christ as we’ve come to know him, it means being clear that this is part of who we are. No one needs a “bait and switch” approach to evangelism. If we’re sincere about building relationships AND about letting our spiritual selves be part of the encounter, we’re being innocent as doves.

Jesus’ exhortation to be “wise as serpents” is harder to parse. At what point does canny morph into cunning? Let’s consider what attributes of serpents we might adopt as we move out in mission. One is their ability to move quickly and nimbly and with great flexibility. When do our structures hold us back? Serpents are low to the ground, able to get where they need to be without drawing a lot of attention to themselves. So we might show up at opportune moments, and maneuver with grace around those who would shut us up, or tell us to leave our religion out of it.

Jesus was primarily trying to tell his followers that there would be resistance to their ministry which might well harden into persecution – and that no matter what, God would be with them, speaking his message through them: "When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given to you at that time; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you."

In a time in our national and global life when many Christians are following the call to protest and push for justice in the name of Christ, we may indeed encounter opposition. Some of my clergy colleagues in this diocese were among those peaceful demonstrators forcibly removed from the environs of St. John’s Lafayette Square last week, with tear-gas-like chemical spray and rubber bullets. My bishop faces daily hate mail and death threats. In the arena of faith-sharing, the resistance we encounter might take the form of social pressure "not to be so religious," and indifference.

Jesus’ counsel to be both winsome and wise, gentle and canny is as apt for us as it was for his disciples. We have a story to tell, truth to reveal, an invitation to offer, an introduction to make – let’s not let anything stop us from making Christ known.

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