Be Wise as Serpents and Innocent as Doves - Revisit

I wrote a blog on this theme on July 14, 2017 - almost exactly the same day last year - after reading the exact scripture passage (Matthew 10:16-23). It was a good read but how have I changed in the past year? In what ways did reading and blogging God's Word change me? There had been many challenges coming from the "wolves" (Matthew 10:16) - the one that stands out is the matter related to "Conscience Protection", especially in Ontario. Praise God, one of the signs of victory was the change of government (the incumbent Liberal government was so defeated that it lost its official party status) and the new Progressive Conservative government had previously promised to write a Conscience Protection clause in the Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) Bill. As it stands, health care providers who object to be involved in killing their patients can be prosecuted by their professional college, e.g. if physicians don't make an effective referral for the patients who want to obtain assisted suicide; or nurses who refuse to be part of the killing process.

I had thought that the liturgical calendar attempts to read through the entire bible every 3 years. So why is this scripture passage repeated even within a year? Is it because the message is very important for Christians - are we not all called to take part in the "Great Commission" (Matthew 28:16-20) ? As a recent revert to Catholicism am I not encouraged to take part in the "New Evangelism"? It is interesting that the activists for Secularism is often calling religious people "wolves"! I think they are wolves in sheep clothing!

So Jesus is preparing us for the Great Commission. It is important to understand why He uses serpents and doves for object lessons. I have found the explanation given by GotQuestions.org helpful. I copied a few paragraphs here to serve a reminder for me:

"The serpent simile stands in Jesus’ dialogue without bringing forward any of the serpent’s pejoratives. It is a basic understanding in language that, when a speaker creates a simile, he is not necessarily invoking the entire potential of the words he has chosen—nor is he invoking the entire history and tenor of the linguistic vehicle. Rather, the speaker is defining a fresh relationship between the two things. A quick look at Matthew 10:16 shows that Jesus was invoking only the positive aspects of the serpent. There is no hint of His unloading Edenic baggage upon His disciples. He simply tells them to be wise (and innocent) as they represented Him.

When Jesus told the Twelve to be as wise as serpents and harmless as doves, He laid down a general principle about the technique of kingdom work. As we take the gospel to a hostile world, we must be wise (avoiding the snares set for us), and we must be innocent (serving the Lord blamelessly). Jesus was not suggesting that we stoop to deception but that we should model some of the serpent’s famous shrewdness in a positive way. Wisdom does not equal dishonesty, and innocence does not equal gullibility."

"In His more typical moments, Jesus showed that He was as wise as a serpent in the way He taught. He knew enough to discern the differences in His audiences (a critical skill), He used the story-telling technique to both feed and weed (Matthew 13:10–13), and He refused to be caught in the many traps that His enemies laid for Him (Mark 8:11; 10:2; 12:13).

Jesus showed that He was as harmless as a dove in every circumstance. He lived a pure and holy life (Hebrews 4:15), He acted in compassion (Matthew 9:36), and He challenged anyone to find fault in Him (John 8:46; 18:23). Three times, Pilate judged Jesus to be an innocent man (John 18:38; 19:4, 6)."

"In Matthew 10:16, Jesus taught us how to optimise our gospel-spreading opportunities. Successful Christian living requires that we strike the optimal balance between the dove and the serpent. We should strive to be gentle without being pushovers, and we must be sacrificial without being taken advantage of. We are aware of the unscrupulous tactics used by the enemy, but we take the high road. Peter admonishes us, “Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us” (1 Peter 2:12)."

I was quite involved with the Conscience Protection campaign last year - helping my wife making presentations in churches, marching to Queen's Park, and writing to MPP's etc. I am learning from many other members of the Body of Christ and supporting their actions. I pray that Jesus' lesson on being a better serpent and a better dove will both increase my virtues and avoid vices.