Dear Friends,
As we celebrate our country’s independence from England this weekend, I think it is good to reflect upon the history of the struggle and its goals, because it can teach us lessons in faith. One thing that always strikes me is the tremendous risk that they took in their rebellion. The leadership was made up of successful people, not a group that was so poor that they had nothing to lose. They risked life and livelihood to set our country on a path where we are free to govern ourselves.
It was one thing to think about rebelling, but it was entirely another thing to act on it. This difference is important when it comes to our faith too. It is one thing to know what our faith teaches, but it is quite another thing to act on it. Knowing is safe and requires no risk. Knowing is the stuff that people can talk about over lunch or a beer, but they never have to decide to take action. Knowing is full of good intentions, but will take us nowhere unless we are willing to start doing.
Doing reveals who we are and what we stand for. We honor our founding fathers and mothers this weekend because their doing required courage, strength and fortitude. We hold them up as heroes because they went from saying it is a good idea to be an independent country to doing the hard work of rebellion and war.
In the gospel today Jesus sends out 72 disciples to every town and place he intended to visit. They may have wanted to say “we are not ready” or “ask someone else” or “I really cannot make that big of a commitment,” but they did not do that. They go. Doing is fueled by faith and prayer.
And, when Jesus sends them out, he gives them some unique, specific instructions: No staff, because without a staff you are defenseless. No bag, because without a bag of some kind, you have no way of carrying a change of clothes or food. No sandals, because no matter how tough your feet are, you can’t run from danger over rocks without something on your feet. As Fr. Dennis Hamm points out, “The point of this mode of traveling would seem to be something like this: we are people who trust in God for our defense and who depend on the hospitality of others for our sustenance; we have a vision to share.”
How well did they do? The gospel tells us the disciples came back rejoicing. They were so successful that even demons obeyed their command to leave. They moved from knowing to doing and found the power of God with them. How did our founding fathers and mothers do when they went from knowing to doing? They did amazingly well – a small group of farmers and tradesmen were able to overthrow the governing authority of one of the most powerful countries in the world. And they went on to establish a very unique nation which is home to us today.
Good lessons. Can we move from knowing our faith to doing our faith? May each firecracker we hear or see this weekend remind us of the courage others had to move to action. May we have the same courage to put our faith into action.
Peace,
Fr. Damian