Understand Physical Realities
Accept and Adapt
Live within Gaia
The gospel reading for this week (Matthew 10) described the sending out of the disciples. They must have been worried, perplexed and full of questions. Imagine their conversation after they were left by themselves.
The sun had barely risen when Jesus gathered them. The twelve had followed him through towns and villages, watched him heal the sick, calm storms, and teach crowds with authority. But this morning was different. He had summoned them not to teach them, but to send them out.
Now they sat together under a fig tree, a few paces from where Jesus had gone alone to pray. They were not happy.
Peter broke the silence. “So, that was it? We’re going out now?”
James (son of Zebedee) shrugged. “He said we are to go only to the lost sheep of Israel.”
Bartholomew looked uncertain. “But what exactly are we to say?”
Matthew leaned forward, ever the one for clear instructions. “The kingdom of heaven has come near; that was his wording. But what does that mean to the people in the next village? To farmers and weavers and sick mothers?”
Philip nodded. “And who are we to tell them anything? We’re not trained. We are fishermen, tax collectors and one of us is a political zealot. We don’t know how to answer their questions.”
Andrew looked toward the hill where Jesus had gone. “He gave us authority to heal diseases and cast out demons.”
Thomas frowned. “But authority doesn’t equal understanding. What if we make mistakes? What if they laugh?”
Simon the Zealot spoke up, sharp-edged and skeptical. “Do we go alone, or in pairs? That makes a difference.”
John replied, “He didn’t say. But two is better than one, I think. Safer. More encouraging.”
Thaddeus asked, “What about food? Shelter? Are we supposed to bring money? Or tools? What if it rains?”
Matthew again: “He said, ‘Take no gold, or silver, or copper in your belts.’ So . . . nothing. Not even a change of tunic.”
They sat with that thought for a moment. The silence grew heavier. What about laundry?
Peter said. “So we go, without money, without bags, into strange towns, and announce that the kingdom of heaven is near. That’s bold, and rather weird.”
Thomas replied, “Bold or reckless?”
Nathaniel (Bartholomew) said quietly, “He told us to find those who are worthy—people who will take us in. So maybe the ones who need to hear will also provide what we need.”
James (son of Alphaeus) who rarely spoke said, “Maybe this is the training. The going. The depending. The speaking. We won’t learn by staying. This is on the job training.”
There was a pause. Then John said softly, “When he healed, he often said, ‘Your faith has made you well.’ Maybe this is his way of teaching us faith.”
Peter stood. “Well then. Let’s go in pairs. Two by two. No money, no extra sandals. Just the message.”
Thomas muttered, “And what a message: ‘The kingdom is near.’”
James (son of Zebedee) grinned. “We’ll figure out what it means as we go.”
And with that, they rose. Uncertain but obedient. Carrying nothing but the authority he gave them, and the strange, unsettling joy that comes when the world is about to change.
