Jesus said to his Apostles: “As you go, make this proclamation: 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.'
Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons. Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give."
Do not take gold or silver or copper for your belts;
no sack for the journey, or a second tunic, or sandals, or walking stick. The laborer deserves his keep.
Whatever town or village you enter, look for a worthy person in it, and stay there until you leave.
As you enter a house, wish it peace.
If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; if not, let your peace return to you."
Source: https://dailygospel.org/M/AM/
Analysis
Today's passage is a simple and short one, luckily for me. It records Jesus' commands to His early apostles, their mission being to proclaim that the kingdom of God is near. There are certain rules the apostles must obey in their mission, first they must not bring extra supplies, mentioned as sack for the journey. They shouldn't bring treasury such as gold, silver, or copper either. The reason they shouldn't bring supplies is because it is expected that their supplies will be fulfilled by those they visited. Whenever they enter a town or village, they must look for someone worthy and stay with them until they must leave. Any house entered shall be wished peace, if they are rejected, the peace shall come to the house, and if not, returns to the apostle.
This seems fairly simple and straightforward, but it has a deep meaning in relation to all of us. Pay attention to the beginning of the passage. Jesus said that without cost the apostles have received, and without cost they should give. This is referring to Jesus delivering the truth to the apostles without any cost, as such, we shouldn't apply costs to our good deeds as well. Since the apostles won't make money, they shouldn't spend money either, as such the command not to bring gold and other valuables. The laborer deserves his keep means that since the apostles have worked hard, their hard work will be rewarded, as such they don't need to bring any extra supplies. It shall be rewarded for their work.
Wishing one peace is simply a form of respect and greetings, as such, I will not explain further about it. There is an overall message for us as the readers of the Gospel and partners of Christ. Just like the apostles, we must not apply costs to our good deeds. We must not worry too much on our needs as we do the will of God, we must trust that God will help us in our mission. This is the message that is delivered by this passage, and the point of doing this wholeheartedly will be repeated in many other passages. I believe that is all I have to say, have a nice day and see you tomorrow.
No comments:
Post a Comment