In the Gospel lesson appointed for this Sunday (Matthew 9.35-10.23), Jesus sends his disciples on a mission. He sees the enormous need of the crowds of people who have come to receive his teaching and healing and "had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd" (9.36). In response to the world's need, he asks the disciples to pray for workers to gather the Lord's harvest (v.38). The prayer is apparently answered, as Jesus sends out the twelve disciples to extend his work among the Jews (vv. 10.5-6). Their mission is to "proclaim the good news, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons" (vv. 7-8).
Jesus' further instructions deserve our attention. He tells these first evangelists to travel with the barest of provisions. Without money or extra clothes, they must rely on what the people to whom they minister provide. He tells them to expect opposition. "See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of them, for they will hand you over to councils and flog you in their synagogues" (vv. 16-17). Yet poverty of preparation is a feature of Kingdom-preaching: "When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given to you at that time" (v. 19). They are to rely on God, not careful planning, to provide for their defense.
In our age of anxiety, we are told that careful planning will save us from a bad fate. So we develop procedures and asses risk and buy insurance and do everything we can to insulate ourselves from the reality that life is delicate and every moment precarious. But one of the features of the Kingdom-come is that every moment is a precious and holy encounter and that everything we need will be provided to us. This is a Gospel of freedom from worry even as we prepare for the most difficult of mission trips.
I'm not saying that planning doesn't have it's place in the life of faith, merely that we should not be possessed by it. There is a time for talking and for council and a time for action. I think more has been lost in the church by endless meetings than wasted by ill-conceived initiatives. Churches are naturally cautious creatures, but Jesus could not have been more clear in his instruction to spread the Good News. Glory to God, whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine....
Let us Pray,
O Lord God, you are the Holy One that dwells in all the world, receive our prayers for courage and faithfulness as we respond to your calling. Give us the conviction of hope and love that is our calling in Jesus Christ. Inspire our actions with your spirit of wisdom, that all we do may work to the building up of your Kingdom. We ask this through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
In Christ,
Tay
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