Commissioning of the Twelve
5 Jesus sent these twelve out and commanded them, “Don’t go among the Gentiles or into a Samaritan city. 6 Go instead to the lost sheep, the people of Israel. 7 As you go, make this announcement: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those with skin diseases, and throw out demons. You received without having to pay. Therefore, give without demanding payment. 9 Workers deserve to be fed, so don’t gather gold or silver or copper coins for your money belts to take on your trips. 10 Don’t take a backpack for the road or two shirts or sandals or a walking stick. 11 Whatever city or village you go into, find somebody in it who is worthy and stay there until you go on your way. 12 When you go into a house, say, ‘Peace!’ 13 If the house is worthy, give it your blessing of peace. But if the house isn’t worthy, take back your blessing. 14 If anyone refuses to welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet as you leave that house or city. 15 I assure you that it will be more bearable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on Judgment Day than it will be for that city.
Response to harassment
16 “Look, I’m sending you as sheep among wolves. Therefore, be wise as snakes and innocent as doves. 17 Watch out for people—because they will hand you over to councils and they will beat you in their synagogues. 18 They will haul you in front of governors and even kings because of me so that you may give your testimony to them and to the Gentiles. 19 Whenever they hand you over, don’t worry about how to speak or what you will say, because what you can say will be given to you at that moment. 20 You aren’t doing the talking, but the Spirit of my Father is doing the talking through you. 21 Brothers and sisters will hand each other over to be executed. A father will turn his child in. Children will defy their parents and have them executed. 22 Everyone will hate you on account of my name. But whoever stands firm until the end will be saved. 23 Whenever they harass you in one city, escape to the next, because I assure that you will not go through all the cities of Israel before the Human One comes.
Reflection
Today’s scripture reading is subtitled “Commissioning the Twelve” in my Study Bible. I would add “and Followers.”
As I was pondering this lengthy and vital passage, I realized how powerful this passage is for all of us who are called to follow Christ in the Ways of Jesus. For me, this passage should be focused on verse 10:20 “You aren’t doing the talking, but the Spirit of my God is doing the talking through you.” God is doing the talking through each of Christ’s Followers. Through you, through me, through each of us who are truly followers of Jesus the Christ, God is speaking and doing. This passage, for me, is the call for every Christian to minister to the world.
Reflecting on my own thirty plus years in ministry I realize that the Holy Spirit was always preparing me for my next position as I traveled through the appointment system of the United Methodist Church. I began as a Seminary Student working as a parttime assistant to the pastors at a fairly large church. As I graduated from seminary, I was promoted to a fulltime Associate Pastor doing a little bit of everything as the local church I served grew in numbers. With the help of the Holy Spirit and the congregations I served we continued to grow in ministry and understanding of the world beyond the local church as the members invested their time and talents in mission beyond the local church. The appointment process worked through the Holy Spirit and the Bishop’s cabinet for the years that followed. I served tiny churches, mid-size churches and large churches in New Jersey and Arizona, as well as in a position on the staff of the Greater NJ Annual Conference. Many times I was appointed to a position that I thought was beyond my skills. I realize now that (to paraphrase Matthew 10:20) “I was not doing the talking, but the Holy Spirit was doing the talking through me.”
by Kathleen Stolz
For Pondering and Prayer
Proclaiming the gospel to an unbelieving world is sometimes challenging. Let’s face it, sometimes it’s downright scary. I can look back in my own life at times when I was asked a difficult, spiritual question. In that moment, I wanted to freeze for fear of not being able to adequately answer. But as I opened my mouth and silently prayed in desperation, something
miraculous happened. I began to speak as Jesus would have me speak. It seemed words came out from a place I did not know existed.
God has not given us a spirit of fear; nor does She expect us to go into the fight alone. Therefore, it is to be by the power of the Holy Spirit and the Grace of God that we proclaim the Good News. We don’t need to worry about having the perfect words to say. We are to merely be vessels for God’s word. It is God’s Holy Spirit that will come upon us and flow through us when we need Her.
Question for Pondering: When have you found yourself in a position where you had no words and God fed you the perfect reply to a difficult situation or conversation? Give thanks as you remember and reflect.
Prayer: Gracious God for those moments in history when you gave me the perfect words for a difficult situation, I give you thanks. For those days when no words seem to come and you supplied a diplomatic response, I get down on my knees in prayer. For the Church Universal that brings life to seemingly impossible situations day after day, year after year I offer tears of thanksgiving. Amen.
