Do Unmercenaries Still Exist?

The other day I blogged about rewards. The only true reward we receive from God is to live with Him eternally. How do we balance between waiting for God’s rewards and accepting rewards now while we do the work of Christ?

Today the Church commemorates two saints known as unmercenaries. Saints Cyrus and John used their own resources to heal and serve others. They were not only healers, but a witness to the call from Christ to “give without pay.”

At that time, Jesus called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every infirmity.  These twelve Jesus sent out, charging them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.  And preach as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’  Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons.  You received without paying, give without pay.”

Matthew 10.1, 5-8

It is tempting to ‘read into’ today’s passage, and think Christ is telling us never to accept pay. This passage isn’t about being paid for our work. Christ also said, “the laborer is worthy of his wages.” (Luke 10.7) There must be a deeper purpose to today’s passage.

The ‘category’ of unmercenary in the Church is limited to those saints who used their resources to heal. The reason they didn’t get paid wasn’t because being paid was wrong. They didn’t get paid because the people they served couldn’t pay, and they didn’t need to get paid.

When I ‘look around’ our society I often wonder where the unmercenaries are. Do they still exist? There are many who need healing that can’t afford healing, but when I ‘look around’ I see doctors being paid by ‘someone else’ to heal. Where are the unmercenaries?

When I think of what the Church could be doing for society I think of unmercenaries. I think of how the Church can offer people the opportunity to ‘give without pay’ to those who cannot pay. The Church used to do this work when Saint Basil established hospitals and orphanages etc.

As time pressed on the ministries established by Saint Basil have become ‘for profit’ corporations. When was the last time you witnessed a hospital or nursing home offer its services for free?

As a priest visiting many families struggling with finances and health, it saddens me to watch patients discharged early to make room for more income. As a society, as a Church, we must come up with a better way to heal the sick, especially those who cannot pay.

I don’t believe the answer is to make someone else pay. That isn’t what the unmercenaries did. They used their own resources. The answer is allowing doctors and nurses to heal for free without the risk of losing their license etc.

My idea isn’t a simple suggestion. There are complexities to health care. I admit that much. Imagine a scenario where a doctor administers basic health care using personal resources. The doctor pays for the pills, the ointment, the x-ray. Maybe it’s just a dream.

Of course, all this being said. The idea of serving without pay isn’t limited to doctors. Anyone can and should offer their service to those who cannot pay.