06-17-20

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
June 17, 2020
Scripture: Matthew 10:9-10
Take no gold, or silver, or copper in your belts, no bag for your journey, or two tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for laborers deserve their food.

Thought for the Day: Had Jesus said this before commissioning you to go beyond your usual community, what would you have been saying to yourself? You might not have said it out loud, but I’m guessing the conversation inside your head would have consisted of some questions, or even the words: Are you crazy! How big is your suitcase even if you’re only getting away for a long weekend? Sadly around our house, there are times it looks as if we left less stuff at the house. This is one of those passages that most of us confine to the first century, specifically a command given to the group of twelve, and no one else. As much as I’d like to think of it in those terms, and move on, I believe there are challenges to be found for us. I hear those words with a question: How has my stuff, and my need to hold tight to my stuff, become the rationale for why I cannot do what God might be calling me to do? For many people, this pandemic has provided some time to clean out a closet or the garage, and to get rid of some of that excess stuff. How many of us, when things settle down, will fill in those empty spaces with more stuff? I hear Jesus challenging me to ask the question, “What is it that keeps me from following God more faithfully?” For many of us, it might be stuff. For others, it might be something else. The question we ask ourselves, and the struggle that follows, are often where our faith really grows.

Prayer: Today is another day where I can do my best to make sure that nothing really changes. Holy God, today might be the day that I need to make some changes. In fact, they might be long overdue changes, but today is the day I have and I desire to make something of it. Be honest with me and I will try to be honest with myself. Allow for your grace to give me the space for what might be difficult, even painful. But in the end, faithfulness to the works of love and mercy, kindness and healing, is what I desire. Amen.

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