Word to the Wise
Thursday, February 4, 2021 - Thursday in the 4th Week in Ordinary Time
[Heb 12:18-19, 21-24 and Mark 6:7-13]Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over unclean spirits. He instructed them to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick - no food, no sack, no money in their belts. They were, however, to wear sandals but not a second tunic. He said to them, "Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave from there. Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you, leave there and shake the dust off your feet in testimony against them." So they went off and preached repentance. The Twelve drove out many demons, and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them. [Mark]
In my years as a full time itinerant preacher (2009-2019, part time 1990-2009}, I traveled two different ways - by car and by plane to places all over the United States with one or two excursions to Canada and the Caribbean. When the destination was a parish church for a "mission," I knew that I would encounter a great variety of situations in the residence of a pastor!! If I traveled by car, I could add certain amenities that I knew from experience would not be present in the kitchen of many rectories. But when I traveled by plane, I could only hope that somehow I'd be able to find what I needed nearby. I have to admit that whenever I read Jesus' instructions to the Twelve for their itinerant ministry, I feel a twinge of guilt.
By baptism, we are all called to proclaim the kingdom of God. What kind of baggage do we bring to the task? Does it help or does it hinder us from the task? The lifestyle of the preacher has a direct influence on the quality of his or her ministry. St. Dominic was very insistent on this point when he founded our order, the Order of Preachers. His first disciples thought he was a bit too strict because they couldn't function without certain resources. If the mission is to proclaim the kingdom of God in word and deed, the question of resources should be considered in the light of that mission. What we really NEED should be contrasted with what we WANT. It's a question that can serve as a lifetime theme, if only we remember to ask it. AMEN