"Here I Am," God

In today's first reading, Ge 46: 1-7, 28-30, God calls Jacob in a nightly vision:  "Jacob! Jacob!"  Jacob answers: "Here I am."  God then asks him to not be afraid to go down to Egypt, "for I will make you a great nation. Not only will I go down to Egypt with you; I will also bring you back here, after Joseph has closed your eyes." In today's Gospel, Mt 10: 16-23, Jesus says to his apostles:  "Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves."

Jacob is asked to a go to a foreign country and to trust that his needs and the needs of his family and relatives will be provided for. He is promised that he will grow into a great nation, as well!  When Jesus sent His apostles out during his three-year ministry and afterward, following Jesus' return to His Father in heaven, He provides them with the strength and the courage and the wisdom they need--He baptizes them with the Holy Spirit!  The Kingdom of God spreads throughout the world--a great nation of believers is developed through their obedience to God. And the Church continues to grow to this very day.  Men and women, today, are also sent out "like sheep in the midst of wolves."  We are to be as "shrewd as serpents and simple as doves," guided by, empowered by, made "shrewd" by the Holy Spirit, who equips us with wisdom, courage, and strength to say "yes," "here I am," Lord, to do your will just as Mary did, just as You did when God sent you to redeem us.  Yes, we are sent to by God to be His heart and voice in a world that is corrupted by greed and power--a world that has become enslaved to idols, false gods,  and substitutes for God.

God comes to set us free!