Thursday of the Fourteenth
Week in Ordinary Time
(Genesis 44:18-21.23b-29.45:1-5; Matthew 10:7-15)
“I have six pence, jolly, jolly six pence/ I have six
pence to last me all my life./ I have two pence to spend and two pence to lend,/And
two pence to send home to my wife, poor wife.”
Many sing such rhymes as this in their youth to make the
best of the time when their earning power is minimal. Perhaps the apostles have learned to sing
something like it as Jesus sends them to proclaim the Good News.
Jesus tells them that they are not to “take gold or
silver or copper.” The last, a copper
coin, is equivalent to the modern penny.
Jesus wants the apostles to preach the goodness of God by their poverty
as well as by their words. Completely
dependent on Divine Providence, without even a penny to their name, they will
show how the Lord cares for those who trust in Him.
Often enough today we forget Jesus’ instruction here. Preachers set their fees to meet their
budgets which can include huge salaries, hefty insurance premiums, and ample retirement
accounts. We should forgive them for
doing so as our society expects most everyone to look after his/her own
needs. But we should never doubt Jesus’
principal consideration here. When we
bestow a blessing on those we meet, we can be assured that the gracious act
will come back to us tenfold.
