Daily Liturgy and Scripture

Remember that Jesus was sending out his apostles seemingly empty-handed? Now we discover the encouraging part of that charge: they are to be treated as someone would treat him. Even today, we remain Christ’s ambassadors if we are carrying on his life. We are valuable to him as more than vessels, though. We are co-laborers with God in this great undertaking.

The way Jesus equipped his disciples seems like madness. Go with nothing? Not even an extra shirt? None of us would even go on an overnight trip to see a relative under such circumstances, and yet Jesus sent his followers out on mission in this way. Why was that? Maybe because the Kingdom of Jesus isn’t about ruling others, but about a race to the bottom. To be a servant of all, we must certainly take a very radical approach to that which we are accustomed.

Jesus came to bring wholeness, and that spirit traveled with him so powerfully that it healed even those who touched him. (One woman, anyway.) This is a great picture of the life of Jesus: it was a life so full, it brought fullness of lives to those with whom he came in contact.

You have to love the inclusion of Matthew’s houseguests in his gospel. It was all the wrong people, according to the proper decorum for religious leaders. You get the feeling that Matthew just invited the people he usually spends time with, and Jesus came right to the middle of one of Matthew’s regular parties. It was so upsetting, that those who knew the more acceptable type of people called him out for it. Of course, Jesus was exactly where he intended to be. He was with the people he came to reach out to: those willing to reach back to him.

Sometimes, even when Jesus brings good things to his community, it's really inconvenient to those around him. Such is the case with the pig herders, and that (plus their loss of income) was probably why they wanted him to leave. It's reasonable. But the thing that was going on that they missed was worth catching, even if it came at great cost.

Jesus is building a different kind of Kingdom. In this one, the wounded are restored, the outsider is welcome, and those who think all they require is a family name may find themselves as the outsiders. It’s a radical inclusion that was unique to Jesus, and there is still nothing like it.

The Kingdom of Jesus is very different from the kingdoms formed by us. In that Kingdom, there is plenty to go around, goodness flows between its citizens, and God is judge of all. It’s not an easy place to be a citizen of, because we have to learn to lay aside the notions we have about the way we would make it. Once we learn to live there, and keep practicing the life of that Kingdom, we will find ourselves standing in the presence of God, and God is unshakable.

Those who become citizens of the Kingdom of Jesus will learn to think a different way. By setting their minds on things above, they will stop focusing so much on the things that concerned them before their citizenship. Jesus talks about food and clothing, which are two of the most fundamental needs we have. What would it be like to be more focused on God than on our basic needs? It would be like Jesus.

Our audience for worship and piety should be God alone. To use it as a prop for our own reputation and become a holy braggart is NOT the objective. As Jesus says, people who use holiness as a way to be seen by others have received their reward: the praise of others. But we should not seek out the praise of others, only the eye of God. Even then, it is not our righteousness that catches God’s eye, because Jesus just told us that we are all steeped in sin. Instead, it is the worship of God that connects us to our Heavenly Father.

Jesus seems to be making it HARDER to be holy. Why do that? It is because following the letter of the law is not the way to salvation. We are all sinners, in dire need of grace. When we become convinced of our own special holiness, we lose sight of that. Our best hope is to realize that we do nothing to save ourselves, and lean on the love of God as our salvation.