From the responsorial psalm: “Falsehood I hate and abhor; your law I love. Your word, O Lord, is a lamp for my feet.”
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 9:1-6)
Jesus summoned the Twelve and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them to proclaim the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick. He said to them, “Take nothing for the journey, neither walking stick, nor sack, nor food, nor money, and let no one take a second tunic. Whatever house you enter, stay there and leave from there. And as for those who do not welcome you, when you leave that town, shake the dust from your feet in testimony against them.” Then they set out and went from village to village proclaiming the Good News and curing diseases everywhere.
Jesus sends out the Twelve with authority he gives to them to exorcise demons, cure diseases, and proclaim the Gospel. His specific instructions to take nothing for the journey guide the apostles in the way of radical dependence on God for food, clothing, and shelter. These extreme measures of detachment give the apostles power to heal, cure, and preach. Yet, in the extremes Jesus invites the Twelve—and all of us—to return to a kind of normalcy between extremes that we hear in the first reading: “Lest, being full, I deny you, saying, “Who is the LORD?” Or, being in want, I steal, and profane the name of my God.” The mission of the Twelve is not our mission but at the same time it is in so far as we cure, heal, and proclaim the Good News in the name of Jesus.
God, give me the grace to be satisfied with the food you give me for the day’s journey. To be the means of healing and proclaiming the Gospel, Jesus says, “Take nothing for the journey.” You know, Lord, I have everything I need and more, so help me understand how I can put into practice what Jesus commands. Help me see the reality of my dependence on you for everything I need so that I don’t say, “Who is the LORD?” You, Lord, are the source of fullness and detachment from constant, nagging want. Whatever house I enter today, for your sake, give me strength to be to others the person Jesus sends me out to be.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.