A Reflection for the Memorial of Saint Ambrose, Bishop and Doctor of the Church
Find today’s readings here.
Maybe I’m projecting, but the readings toward the end of the year always have a certain bustling sensation to them. It’s as if the Lectionary commission looked at the calendar, gasped, and said, “Oof, we have a lot to get through before the end of the year. Better sum up.”
This is how today’s Gospel reading from Matthew hits. The first part reads almost like a summary of the Gospel itself:
“Jesus went around to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom, and curing every disease and illness. At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ”The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.”
In short, Jesus does most of the things he spent his public years doing: Preaching and teaching, healing, doing a certain amount of worrying and prodding, and making plans for the future. Reading this in the first week of December with a long to-do list, I get it. We don’t have endless time!
Then he summons the disciples and gives them “authority over unclean spirits to drive them out and to cure every disease and every illness.” He tells them: “Go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’”
Yes, time is running out! The thing that you’ve been waiting for is already here, and the clock is ticking.
He tells them:
“Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons. Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.”
And that is the last line.
It stood out; the rest is so practical and specific, but that line is a little more analytical. Matthew might be giving us sort of the short version of everything Jesus hustled around doing; but the passage ends not with a “what” but a “how.”
So I’m trying to take that to heart, because in December it seems like a valuable thing to keep in mind as we enter into the home stretch of the old year, hustling and bustling around, getting everything done that needs to be done, wrapping up the old year and also looking ahead to the future, and making sure we’re at least covering the basics that need to be accomplished:
The “what” matters, but also the “how.”
Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.
Yes, preach; yes, teach. Yes, cure and worry and prod. Do all the essential things that really do need to get done before time runs out. Do the work, and make the plans.
But also remember what we’re running on, as we run around and get stuff done: It’s all God’s grace. It’s all a gift. Every task and obligation, and every power and every skill, and even our very existence. It’s all a gift, given to us without cost by God.
So what does this mean? Always be cheerful and chill, gracious and generous and smiling as we toil and rush? That sounds good, but it’s extremely hard.
Instead of trying to force a feeling of gratitude, try this: Start each day by thanking God for giving so much to us without cost. Even if you don’t feel it, thank him, first thing, every single day. Acknowledge that it’s all a gift. Take Jesus at his word, and see if anything falls into place from there.
Get to know Simcha Fisher
What is your favorite Advent/Christmas hymn?
I really like “O Come Divine Messiah.” It makes me laugh that it says “the world in silence waits the day” but it’s such an eager, noisy hymn, and it’s just fun to sing.
What are you most proud to have worked on at America this year?
When I started writing about burying a St. Joseph statue and other Catholic superstitions, and it led me to a very different place than I expected.
Do you have any favorite holiday recipes? (Bonus points if you share the recipe here.)
I’m working myself up to make some cookies for the school bake sale. These sugar cookies aren’t thrilling, but they’re very reliable. They taste pleasant and hold their shape, and you don’t have to chill the dough.
