Jesus said to his Apostles, "As you go, make this proclamation: 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.' Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons. Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give. Do not take gold or silver or copper for your belts; no sack for the journey, or a second tunic, or sandals, or walking stick. The laborer deserves his keep. Whatever town or village you enter, look for a worthy person in it, and stay there until you leave. As you enter a house, wish it peace. Whoever will not receive you or listen to your words - go outside the house or town and shake the dust from your feet. Amen, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgement than that for that town."
The Word in other words
Jesus was very clear in the instructions that his followers were to follow as they went to proclaim the kingdom. They were to have complete trust in the Lord as they shared God's healing power. As missionaries of peace, they were to be generous having received so freely from the Lord.
Once a group of us, priests and religious sisters and brothers, were sent incognito to "smokey mountain", the garbage dump in Cebu City, to give witness to our brothers and sisters living there We were instructed not to wear any sign that we were priests or religious; even the sisters were to go without their habit. We were to wear T-shirts or sports shirts with rubber slippers or rubber shoes. Much as we tried to be like the people of smokey mountain, our shirts were simply too white and clean, and even our rubber slippers too neat to fit their culture. Still we were thrilled that we were able to present ourselves in disguise. The sound of so many flies flying and the pungent smell of the burning waste hit us strongly, but the simplicity of the people and their warm welcome made up for our feeling of discomfort. There were without pretense, so considerate and natural were they, apologizing for having no seats to offer to us. Then one of them told us how happy there were that we came because early that morning a priest told them that priests, sisters, and brothers were coming to visit them. What a bombshell! We all had a big laugh about our disguise.
We went to smokey mountain to bring Christ along, but we discovered Christ with the people. In their simplicity we could feel the joy in the midst of poverty. We learned from them how to trust the Lord always in whatever situation we are in life
- Fr. Carlos Lariosa, SVD (Radio Veritas Asia, QC)
