Friday July 14, 2017
The instruction to be as clever as snakes and innocent as doves seems to have a proverbial status, as is evident from similar statement in the midrash Shir ha-Shirim Rabba: “The holy blessed God said to the Israelites, Ye shall be towards me as upright as the doves; but, towards the Gentiles, as cunning as serpents.” Thus, to God we must abandon ourselves in complete trust, but before the world, we must use God-given prudence and caution. However, despite the best of all caution and prudence, persecution will come our way when we preach the Gospel and live in fidelity to Christ. Jesus invites us to not lose heart or panic then, but to trust God to guide us through those moments. What we need then is a dove-like innocence and trust in God.
The words of Jesus can also be seen as an invitation to balance both innocence and prudence in practical wisdom in our dealings with the world. We should know when to trust and when to back out in our engagement with the world. And we can trust the Spirit to guide us in this task as well.