For Sunday, July 7, 2013 – Luke 10:1-11, 16-20
Often we think of twelve disciples, but here Jesus appoints a group of about 72 to go out ahead of him into every town he intends to go. They will test the waters, see where the welcome waits and where it does not. More importantly, they will leave the secure camaraderie of their tight circle and venture out, two by two, into God’s wide wonderful world of weary hopeful people.
To prepare for such a journey, Jesus tells them not to save up, but to strip down. Relinquish the props of security—take no purse, no bag, no extra sandals. Need nothing, ask for nothing. Receive whatever is given—it is intended for you. Release whatever is being withheld—it is not for you. Pass the peace; receive the peace. Whether or not you are welcomed, whether or not you get what you thought you wanted, announce that God is near. Walk on.
What an ease-full way to make the journey! No predetermined quotas to fill, no salvation tallies, no delineated charts comparing ‘blessings given//blessings received’ to submit back at headquarters. Most of all, no blame or shame. Just this: Be yourself. Give what you have to give. Receive what others are able to give. Acceptance or rejection, it’s all the same. Either way, God’s realm is near.
God breathes through such encounters of the open heart. When we step into God’s currents, willing to stay put or to move on, be loved or be turned away, we are in a realm of oneness with all creation—and we know in that oneness our oneness with him, the human one of God. This is the nature of the spiritual journey. This is the nature of God’s realm.
