THE WORD
Ac 11,21-26; 13,1-3 / Mt 10,7-13 (or Mt, 5,33-37)
Jesus said to the Twelve, “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 bells; 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.”
IN OTHER WORDS
Today, the Memorial of St. Barnabas, St. Paul’s companion on his rst missionary journey, the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles tells of Barnabas’ role in the Church in Antioch and narrates how he and Paul were set aside by the Spirit for the proclamation of the Gospel to the Gentiles.
And in the Gospel reading, we read Jesus giving instructions to his disciples as they are being sent out on a mission. Jesus deliberately instructs them to take nothing for the journey.
To take nothing for the journey is to go deliberately empty-handed. It is to seek hospitality from the people; it is to allow oneself to be dependent on the people; to be a recipient of the gifts of the people, to be ministered to by the people, to be indebted to the people. To take nothing for the journey is to realize that the people are not just to be recipients of our gifts but a rich resource for mission. It is relying solely on God’s grace and completely on the generosity of the people. In the end, to take nothing for the journey is to encounter Jesus among the people, and to realize that mission is not the giving of what we have, but the sharing of what we ourselves have received – the good news of Jesus. To take nothing for the journey is to believe that Mission is “Missio Dei”, God’s mission. And because Mission is God’s, we need to rely completely on his grace and never on our gifts, talents or possessions.
In mission, we go empty-handed, for only then can we allow the people to be filled with God. To take nothing for the journey is to approach mission in humility, poverty, and powerlessness.
And, as the Gospel reading tells us, it is because the disciples took nothing for the journey that they “drove out demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.”
- Fr. Antonio Pernia, SVD | DWIMS,Tagaytay City
The Word in other words 2016
An annual project of Logos Publications, The WORD in Other Words Bible Diary contains daily scripture readings and reflections written by priest, brothers, and sisters of the three congregations founded by St. Arnold Janssen (the SVD, SSpS, and SSpSAP). It hopes to serve as a daily companion to readers who continually seek the correlation of the Word of God and human experience.
