Let's Dance

Jesus appointed seventy-two other disciples whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit. He said to them, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest. Go on your way; behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves. 

Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals; and greet no one along the way. Into whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this household.’ If a peaceful person lives there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. Stay in the same house and eat and drink what is offered to you, for the laborer deserves his payment. Do not move about from one house to another.

Whatever town you enter and they welcome you, eat what is set before you, cure the sick in it and say to them, ‘The Kingdom of God is at hand for you.’ Whatever town you enter and they do not receive you, go out into the streets and say, ‘The dust of your town that clings to our feet, even that we shake off against you.’ Yet know this: the Kingdom of God is at hand. I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom on that day than for that town.” (Luke 10:1-12)

“Ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest. Go on your way; behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves.” Many of us often feel like we are lambs among wolves.  I mean we’re peaceful by nature, and our faith guides us with Jesus as our Scout leader.  Therefore, we are easy meals for those who know how to take advantage of our desire to trust and assume the other side will play fair and be sincere, i.e., cooperate to seek common ground rather than seize the mountain top and roll us down to the bottom.  Survival of the fittest is their motto with disregard for the well-being of others as the scoundrels seek more power, prestige, and possessions.  There are many wolfish scoundrels roaming our towns and country, especially the ones disguised as wolves in sheep’s clothing.

Even so, there are many of us who promote peace and charity as our way of acknowledging we are part of the Body of Christ. We see those with no money bag, no sack, and no sandals. Our peace rests on them.  We offer them food and drink and give the laborer his/her payment.  We reach out even to the disguised wolves.  

In the 1990 movie Dancing with Wolves, Lieutenant Dunbar, played by Kevin Costner, befriends a lone wolf.  It took a while for the wolf to drop its guard and approach Dunbar for food.  Dunbar kept trying and eventually succeeded.  Perhaps that is a lesson for us – to not give up on the wolves many of which can have a change of heart and be converted with compassion, understanding, and the food we offer as a Eucharistic people.  Let's dance with the wolves.

Deacon David Pierce