of the harvest to send workers to his harvest. Courage! I am sending you like
lambs among wolves. Set off without purse or bag or sandals; and do not stop at the
homes of those you know. Whatever house you enter, first bless
them, saying, ‘Peace to this house!’ If a friend of peace lives there, the peace
shall rest upon that person. But if not, the blessing will return to you. Stay in that
house, eating and drinking at their table, for the worker deserves to be paid. Do not
move from house to house. When they welcome you to any town,
eat what they offer you. Heal the sick who are there, and say to them: ‘The kingdom of
God has drawn near to you.’ But in any town where you are not
welcome, go to the marketplace and proclaim: ‘Even the dust of your town that
clings to our feet, we wipe off and leave with you. But know for a certainty that the
kingdom of God has drawn near to you.’ I tell you, that on the Day of Judgment it
will be better for Sodom than for this town.

Reflection:

E arly on in the ministry, Jesus already sent His
disciples to do mission. Perhaps the ministry is so
big that Jesus has to rely on partners to cover bigger
ground. This is the poverty embraced by the Son of
God. Humans like us, He self-limited His divinity so
that He is also subject to time-space continuum. If
He remained God, He could have effected salvation
easily. But God so loved the world that He gave
up His only Son so that the salvation He brings is
something that humans could understand and
grasp. That is why Jesus has to labor like the rest of
us. He has to depend on His collaborators to be able to
be effective. And so, if God who became human has
to depend on a network of friends to effectively do
His job, we too must have a group to support us in
our endeavors. We cannot simply do it alone.

© Copyright Bible Diary 2021