Wednesday, XXV Week of Ordinary Time
(Luke 9)
A group of Peace Corps Volunteer trainees were once left individually in villages surrounding a city in Malaysia. The trainers provided the volunteers with little more than carfare back to the training center. It was a Sunday afternoon around midday so most of the villagers were at home preparing to eat. That evening when the volunteers regrouped, most of them told stories of gracious hospitality. The people of the villages invited them to their homes for dinner and often drove the volunteers back to the center.
In today’s gospel Jesus sends his apostles out in a similar way. They, however, are to bring nothing with them “just in case.” Rather, they are to depend completely on Providence working through the townspeople they encounter. Of course, they have something for the people – release from demons, cures of diseases, and the good news of God’s kingdom. Like the Peace Corps volunteers they will share stories of success.
The dependency of the apostles upon Providence thrills our consciences like a bugle call. Today in our society most people – and certainly church workers – strive to avert risks. The credit card has long served as a way never to be caught without money. Now, of course, with the cellular telephone help is always only a few pushed buttons away. Of course, we have compiled many more resources – generous insurance policies, for example – that meet most every contingency. We may defend this coverage as prudential, but at the same time we wonder if they eliminate an essential element of Jesus’ apostleship.
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