“Rules for the road”

By Rev. Michael Stonhouse

Meditation – Monday, June 12, 2023

Matthew 10:7-16 (Forward, p. 45) CEV p. 993

Here Jesus is sending out the disciples on the first ‘road trip’, a mission trip, surprisingly, that is to be conducted without Him! For the first time, they will be on their own, on their own to continue on with the work that He has started. There is nothing like this kind of solo flight for ‘getting your feet wet’ or testing your wings! So, it has to be done.

So, what are Jesus’ rules or instructions? Firstly—which isn’t included in today’s reading--their audience, their destination. They are not to go to Gentiles or to the Samaritans, but only to their fellow Jews. This is not to say that the Gentiles or Samaritans are to be excluded in future endeavours, but only that the time is not right. They are to concentrate on just one group, the Jews, presumably because they are so needy. As Jesus Himself says, “they are like a flock of lost sheep’, sheep without a shepherd to guide and protect them.

Then Jesus describes their task: they are to announce the good news of the kingdom, heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, and drive out demons. Raising the dead? Driving out demons? Yes, they are both included there. This sounds pretty demanding, quite a stretch, for a group of beginners! And yet, according to Mark 6:13, the latter did indeed occur.

Then there is the question of ‘arrangements’. Interestingly, contrary to much of our present practice, not very much time is taken up with this necessity. Jesus is content to just let this ‘fall into place’, at least for this present time. This is not to say that arranging accommodations or getting together supplies is not appropriate for many occasions and situations, but now just at that time. Perhaps the need was too great, too urgent; perhaps Jesus knew that all that ‘getting ready’ and making plans would delay action and maybe even sidetrack them from the task at hand. (This certainly occurs at times, whether in government or in the church!). And so they are not to take along money or travelling bags or extra garments or sandals or walking sticks. They are to travel light. And, they are to accept whatever hospitality is offered to them.

Finally, Jesus warns them about how they will be treated. Some will welcome them and your message ‘with open arms’ and some will not. This is to be expected, so don’t worry about it. But then, if this latter takes place, if they reject you, then leave them with a pointed reminder of their fate. They are to take their sandals and shake off the dust of their community from them, a time-honoured way of showing rejection in general but also of God’s rejection of them as His people. It was saying to them, ‘by your actions, you have chosen to step outside of Israel and no longer to belong to God. (See Acts 13:51 as another example of this.)

All of these latter warnings about how they will be received nicely encapsulate what was expressed poetically in the Parable of the Sower, the Seeds and the Soils. Some will indeed say ‘yes’, but others, for whatever reason, will choose not to. That is life. But, it never says that we should not be ‘at’ the task anyway. And that goes for all of Jesus’ mission. Many of the details, such as the audience or the provisions, or even the specifics of the task, may not apply to us right now in our situations. But, it doesn’t mean that we should not go out as His emissaries and witnesses and proclaim and live out His good news. That, regardless of the time or place, is always to be the task at hand. So, let us all go forward with this, as we are able. Amen.

Forward notes: “As you enter the house, greet it. If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you” (verses 12-13).

“Yesterday evening I was sitting in my living room, thinking back to the guests who have visited my apartment over the past two years. Due to the constraints of a pandemic and a semi-conscious belief that hospitality is something that couples and families do (rather than bachelors who live alone), the number isn’t high. I thought about how I felt when each person was in the space—how the house felt, how each of them added a layer of significance to each square foot of a relatively small apartment.

“In these remarks, Jesus describes peace almost as a substance that can move from one host, one receptacle to another—particularly from people to homes and back again. I admire this concept of hospitality and personal virtue. I want to cultivate this way of thinking within myself—to believe that I am bestowing spiritual fruit on the places that I visit, especially homes,

and that I should put more effort into hosting, not least to have my guests’ peace come upon my house.”

Moving Forward: “Invite someone to your home to share the peace.”