Be Innocent And Wise

 Reflection on Today's Readings, Friday of 14th Week in Ordinary Time, Year 1, July 9th, 2021
Texts: Gen. 46:1-7.2b-30; Ps. 37:3-4.18-19.27-28.39-40; Mtt. 10: 16-23
Today Jesus Christ says, _“Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves."_ God has sent us out, yet we have to be wise and innocent to have a successful outings. In sending us out God has given us all we need for a successful outing.  The way we use or apply what He has given us depends on us. It is in the application of what he has given us that wisdom and innocence come into play. To be innocent, we have to be blameless, recollected, moderate, modest, and resilient. To be wise is to put one's hope in God and live by His words.
The terrain in which we work does not matter, it is the protection and help of God that matter. He is always with us. In the first reading, what Israel and his family needed to come to Egypt was sent to them. God also assured him of His presence. He said to him thus: _“I am God, the God of your father; do not be afraid to go down to Egypt; for I will there make of you a great nation. I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also bring you up again; and Joseph’s hand shall close your eyes.”_  God never abandons His own, He is always with them.
Hardly there is anything in life that does not come with the tendency to stray to the other side. By the other side, here, I mean the negative side, the side that devil always wants to see us. We need to be innocent and wise not to stray to the other side. We have to ensure that we avoid excesses and extremes; we are to be modest, moderate, and resilient; we are to put our hope in God and live by His words.
The tendency to stray to the other side calls for wisdom in whatever we do in life. Whatever task we do in life, we must apply wisdom so as not to stray to the other side. When we are not gentle and wise, we will not respect boundary. When we do not respect boundary, we will abuse what has been given to us, for modesty, moderation and resilient will be far away from us. It is not longer a news that power has been abused; some people have killed for love; the name of God has been used to defraud people; some people are in trouble now because they cannot fulfil the promise made in their happy moment etc. Talent has also been misused. We need to be innocent and wise to accomplish any task we are given.

Lord our God, grant that we may be innocent and wise as we carry out our daily task, so as not to stray from You. Amen.

Fr. Andrew Olowomuke