Matthew 9:35-10:8 Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”
Then Jesus summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness. These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon, also known as Peter, and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his
brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed him.
These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, proclaim the good news, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment.
Reflection Please imagine with me an artist painting a large canvas, exploding with towering thunderheads, torn by tumultuous winds, whipping raging waves, swallowing a sailboat. In the foreground a mass of craggy granite punctures the furious seas offering deliverance to a figure that is clinging with both hands to a cleft in the monumental rock. Can you picture that?
It is not difficult to do theological reflection with this dramatic image. As a rock or a cliff is a refuge for the innocent sailor, God is refuge for the sick, the suffering and the shipwrecked. We can almost hear the psalmist singing, ‘In you O Lord I seek refuge… rescue me speedily, be a rock of refuge for me.” (Ps 31.1,2) We can also see the rock or cliff as a place where God is made manifest, “See, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock… and I will put you in the cleft of the rock… and you shall see my back (says the Lord).” (Ex 33.21. 23) Yes, God is the stable rock of our salvation, providing steadfast strength and safety and a glimpse of God in hindsight.
But our artist is not satisfied. She takes her palette knife and leaving only the fearsome clouds, scrapes the figure, the rock and the violent seas out of the painting, pauses, then ever so carefully recreates the rocky refuge, restores the swirling seas and reforms the floundering figure. This time the ship wrecked person is clinging to the cleft of the rock with only one hand. With the other hand the storm tossed person is reaching into the dark swirls to rescue one more.*
Now when we do our theological reflection we hear Jesus’ words, "Every one then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house upon the rock.” (Matt 7.24) Turns out our artist knows, it is not enough to sing, “A mighty fortress is my God…” It is not enough to cling to God. It is not even enough to be healed, set free or rescued from a horrific situation and recognize God in hindsight. It is not enough to aver, “God is with me.” More, much more is expected of us.
This I believe is the heart of Jesus’ message to the disciples and us in the gospel text; more is expected of us than clinging to the mighty fortress of God or remembering the ways God has passed by and touched our private lives. This is a radical departure from the ways in which good and faithful religious folks were expected to behave. In Jesus’ time God of Israel was understood to be in God’s house, the Temple. To fulfill their religious obligation, people were supposed to make pilgrimage to the holy site where they could render their proper offerings. Essentially, access to God was bound by geography and ritual.
So when Jesus, “summons his twelve disciples,” sends them out and "gives them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness,” he is essentially saying, “Clinging to your religion, to your God to save your life, is not enough. You must take your faith into the world, to places that may or may not welcome you and proclaim the good news, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near. There is no need to go to a special holy place to find it.’”
Today lots of folks are asking, “How can we be Church if we cannot gather? What is going to happen to Church as we know it?” Others lament, “I miss social time together, or receiving communion, or singing in the choir, or, or, or.” I believe Jesus looks at us with compassion and says, “Yes, yes. I know your losses and I hear your suffering. You are harassed and may even feel helpless. So I transform you from followers into leaders and send you out to minister to the people in your neighborhood, your community, your country. Go to the folks who are sick or suffering or say they are spiritual but not religious. Show them your wounds and tell them the ways God has comforted and healed you. In so doing you will experience your authority and reveal the truth of the kingdom come near. And if someone is not interested in your story, don’t fret about it. Just move on.”
The question we each must ask ourselves is, "How do we want our artist to represent our shipwreck painting? As followers clinging desperately with both hands to the monumental rock? Or, as leaders holding on with one hand and with the other hand reaching into the darkness to save another?
*Somewhere I heard a variation on this story but cannot recall to whom I should give credit.
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