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Mark 6: 7-13
Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two
and gave them authority over unclean spirits.
He instructed them to take nothing for the journey
but a walking stick—
no food, no sack, no money in their belts.
They were, however, to wear sandals
but not a second tunic.
He said to them,
“Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave.
Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you,
leave there and shake the dust off your feet
in testimony against them.”
So they went off and preached repentance.
The Twelve drove out many demons,
and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.
The Gospel of the Lord.
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One of my favorite books is called, The Poisonwood Bible.
Have you read it?
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It’s a story about the Price family from my home state of Georgia. The father, Nathan, is a Baptist minister whose church has appointed him to be a missionary in central Africa, in what was the 1960’s Belgian Congo.
Overjoyed, Nathan decides to bring his entire family along, including his four young daughters, ranging in age from 5 to 16.
Before they go, friends warn them that there’s a weight limit at the airport; each person can only bring forty-four pounds of luggage.
So, the girls rush to their rooms and start putting on as much of their clothes as possible – several pairs of socks each, six dresses, cake mix buckled around their waists, all covered by thick winter coats.
It was just about everything they owned.
“But Daddy,” his youngest daughter says, “he only brought the Word of God. Said it’s all he needed!”
He must’ve read today’s Gospel.
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And yet, when they arrive at the airport, the Price family’s luggage is sixty-one pounds overweight! Slightly embarrassed, they begin digging through their belongings, deciding what items are essential versus what can be left behind.
This gesture of removing items from their suitcase – of tossing out what no longer serves them – pointed to something deeper… something they, we, and the disciples in today’s Gospel, all must to do.
In order to fulfill their mission, and in order for us to live Christian lives, we must leave more than physical luggage behind.
***
In today’s Gospel, Jesus sends the Apostles out on their first missionary journey, instructing them to take nothing with them – no food, no cash, no suitcase. Not even a change of clothes.
Like Doug, the Baptist minister in The Poisonwood Bible, all they have is the Word of God.
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Why does Jesus strip his disciples of their basic necessities? Hasn’t he taken their dignity?Why insist on such extreme poverty?
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The disciples’ poverty will lend credibility to their message.
By driving out demons and curing the sick for free, they’ll show others they’re not looking to get rich; they’re looking to save souls. All they want in exchange for these miracles is for people to believe – and to behave accordingly.
As Saint Peter later writes to one of those early Christian communities, “Your faith is more precious than fire-tried gold,” because it leads to what matters most, your salvation.
Secondly, Jesus wants the disciples to learn how to trust in the midst of suffering. Not knowing where their next meal will come from or who will offer them shelter that night strips them of that natural human tendency towards self-reliance.
Relying upon the Lord instead of themselves will make them learn the meaning of those sacred words Jesus taught them, “Give us this day, our daily bread.”
Similarly, their poverty will instill the virtue of charity into those first Christian communities, instructing those who have more to share with those who have less. As Jesus taught them, “Whatever you do to the least of these, my brothers and sisters, you do to me.”
***
Though we’re not impoverished missionaries like the Apostles, or the Price family in The Poisonwood Bible, the Gospel still challenges us to unpack the suitcases in our lives, considering what things we can leave behind versus what is essential.
On the surface, that may mean something physically. As the common saying goes, “Simplify, simplify, simplify.”
But must we wait until the kids go off to college before we downsize? Or are there ways we can live more simply even now?
(It’s amazing what a priest, a man living on his own, can also accrue.)
***
Perhaps we’re also being invited to unpack those suitcases within.
Coming out of this pandemic, maybe we picked up a habit that we need to drop. Perhaps we experienced a heated family argument, leaving anger or frustration inside. Or maybe we need to rid ourselves of an unhealthy fear or painful memories.
This is the harder question: what baggage do I need to empty from my heart?
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“Jesus instructed them to take nothing for the journey.”
No food, no cash, no suitcase. Not even a change of clothes. Nothing that weighed them down in mind, heart, body, or ministry.
The same is true for us.
Life is a journey. At times it can feel long and difficult. The more we empty ourselves of unnecessary baggage – things that no longer serve us either externally or internally – the easier and more lighthearted our journey becomes.
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Image credits: (1) Pekic, iStock (2) TheBibliofile (3) Heartlight (4) ValuesCoachInc
A wise and necessary admonition.
Thanks Rose. 🙏 God bless you