Without a Net

The scriptures referred to are Matthew 9:35-10:15.

One of the scariest statements in becoming a health care professional concerns learning medical procedures. The saying goes: “See one, do one, teach one.” In other words, as you start to practice in the field you often get to see the procedure once and then you are called upon to do it. And eventually to teach someone else how to do it. Now obviously, as a nursing or medical student, you have read up on the procedure. You've been quizzed and tested on your knowledge. You have seen your instructor do it on a real patient. And your instructor will be there, supervising your initial attempt. Still, it's stressful when you are standing over a patient, about to introduce a tube or a needle into his or her body for the first time while your teacher and fellow students scrutinize your every move.

So imagine what the disciples felt when Jesus sent them out to do as he had done—not just to preach but to “cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons.” Sure, they had seen Jesus do it hundreds of times but now it's their turn. When someone carries in his sick child, pale and feverish, it's them, not Jesus, who's expected to cure her. When someone raving and shrieking is dragged before them, they must restore him to his right mind. When someone covered in a loathsome skin disease approaches them, they have to reach out and heal him. When a tearful family presents them with a recently deceased loved one, they are supposed to bring him back to life. And you thought your job description was tough!

And talk about performance anxiety! Jesus has been doing his ministry for about 2 years at this point. Everyone has heard of him. So when the disciples enter a town and announce they are acting in his name, people are going to expect big things from them. After all, the disciples are representing Jesus, an incomparable healer, wonder-worker and preacher. The disciples know they have someone extraordinary to live up to. They can't afford to fail.

So what are their qualifications? At first glance, they don't look like much. They are a ragtag group of fishermen, tax collectors and the like. Only a few have vivid personalities. We have biographical information on just a handful of them. Most are only names to us. We know less about them than we know about the first rejected contestant on a reality show. But that's not important. What we know or see is irrelevant; it's what Jesus saw in them that counts. And apparently he saw people capable of doing this work.

We know that even Jesus couldn't heal those who didn't put their trust in him. (Mark 6:4-6) But we know that the faith of the healer is just as important as that of the person seeking healing. (Mark 9:23) In the Book of Acts, Luke tells us of some non-Christian exorcists in Ephesus who try to cast out demons “in the name of Jesus whom Paul preaches.” Not only doesn't this work but the possessed man beats the would-be exorcists so severely that they flee his house, naked and bleeding. (Acts 19:13-16) Obviously they themselves didn't believe in Jesus.

So Jesus chose 12 disciples who really trusted him. They believed his message and they believed in his character. They didn't always understand him (Matthew 13:36) and they weren't terribly sure yet he was the Messiah, because of how different Jesus was from the popular conception of God's anointed prophet/priest/king, but they trusted him. They knew he was doing good and was acting in God's name. They were committed to him and to his cause and that was more important to Jesus than their resumes.

So Jesus summoned them and gave them authority. For the first time they were apostles, people “sent out” as ambassadors, envoys, and heralds of the kingdom of God. But the only reason they could do this was that Jesus empowered them to do it.

He didn't make it easy on them either. He tells them not to take money with them. This makes them dependent upon the hospitality of others. In the Middle East, hospitality was considered a major virtue. It was not unusual for a poor family to invite a stranger into their home, feed him and offer him a place to sleep. Still, people are people and you can't always expect to encounter such generosity, even in a culture that encourages it. (Luke 16:19-20) So the disciples had no choice but to stay with whomever invited them in and eat whatever was served.

Jesus also forbids them to bring a bag. This may have been for carrying provisions or may have been a collection bag, used by itinerant preachers to collect offerings in much the same way a street musician uses his guitar case to catch coins. So they couldn't even beg for what they needed.

Then Jesus tells them not to take 2 tunics. The Greek indicates that he is talking about a person's basic undergarment. This was a kind of sack with head and arm holes. The average person in Jesus' day didn't have a closet full of clothes. However it might have been nice to change your undergarment occasionally.

Jesus also says “No” to sandals. This seems rather harsh. In Mark's version Jesus tells them to take sandals (Mark 6:9) so Matthew may be referring to not taking a second pair. And it's not like Jesus is talking about Birkenstocks. In his day, a sandal was just a sole made of leather, or wood, or dried grass, tied to the foot with straps. It was better than being barefoot but only just.

Finally Jesus forbids them to bring a staff. Now a walking stick was nice to have on a long hike but it also made a handy weapon if you were attacked by bandits on the road.

Why is Jesus making these demands of his apostles? William Barclay makes the interesting observation that, according to the Talmud, people entering the temple had to leave these things behind. He suggests that Jesus was comparing entering villages and humble homes with entering God's temple. This mission was a holy one and they are representing God and acting on his authority. So I suppose leaving your sandals behind makes sense. Moses was told to take off his shoes in God's presence. (Exodus 3:5)

But I think Jesus' purpose was to take away all the things that the disciples relied on, all their crutches and security blankets, and to make them rely on God alone. They would have to trust him for safety, food and shelter. Because that was the only way they could succeed at their mission.

When you have a lot of possessions, you tend to put a lot of trust in them. For instance, a study found something surprising about owning an popular model of car. If you're in a accident, you are more likely to die if you are in an SUV! The researchers weren't sure why. It may be that an SUV holds more people and if more people are involved in an accident, it increases the odds that one or more may die. It may be the fact that SUVs are more likely to roll over in an accident. Or it may be that, when you are in such a big and heavy vehicle you feel more secure than you would in a smaller car and so you might neglect to buckle your seatbelt. Complacency kills.

Jesus was taking away the margin of safety for his apostles. He wanted them to work without a net. He was kicking them out of the nest and he knew they'd never learn to fly if they had parachutes. He wasn't being cruel; he was preparing them for when he would be gone. They needed to know they could operate on faith alone. If they had money or an emergency stash of food or a collection bag or a hefty staff, they wouldn't realize how much they could rely on God alone.

Jesus was also forcing his disciples to become part of the communities they were entering, if only for a while. If they were to bring God's love to others by word and deed, they were also to rely on the providence of God, mediated through others. Today our electronic advantages lessens our immediate need for and even contact with other people. We think we are self-reliant. Cocooned in our air-conditioned homes, wired to the world, with hundreds of cable channels and loads of streaming channels, plus a device full of 10,000 songs, we live in gilded isolation. Which, as we saw in the pandemic, is not healthy. It is not good for humans to be alone. (Genesis 2:18) Plus we forget that all this is dependent on a massive infrastructure, which is vulnerable to all kinds of external interference and problems.

We in the Keys ought to be especially aware of how much of an illusion our security and welfare are. Just imagine what would happen if a hurricane took out but one bridge between here and the mainland. What if it took out the power lines and water and cell towers? If so, do you know your neighbors? Do you know which person in your neighborhood is a nurse? Do you know who has a ham radio? Do you know who has a cistern or a well? Do you know who has a boat big enough to take you to a hospital or the mainland if you are hurt and the road or bridges are out? Do you know who has diabetes and might need you to refrigerate their insulin using your generator? Those apocalyptic movies and shows make you think that all you need to survive a disaster is weapons. But what you'll really need is a caring community.

Most of the people in the world live like this, relying not on advanced technology but on their community and on God. Church attendance is down in the West, where we think we have everything we need. But it is exploding in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Unlike 2/3s of the world, we currently have a choice as to whom or what we will ultimately place our faith in. Will we put it in things or in God? External circumstances can cut us off from things. They can even cut us off from other people at times. But nothing can ever cut us off from God. (Romans 8:38-39)

However, we can cut ourselves off from him, just as we can cut ourselves off from fully experiencing what God can do through us. To counteract this, we must let go of the things we usually look to for security and learn to rely on him alone.

What mission is God giving you? What journey is he sending you on? Don't worry about your ability. Don't fret about doing something you've never done before. He has prepared it for you and he has prepared you for it, provided you are his disciple, a student of Jesus' teachings and life, and you follow him through his guiding and empowering Spirit. As Paul discovered, we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. (Philippians 4:13) It doesn't matter if we are just ordinary people. What's essential is that we trust in an extraordinary God. Because nothing is too big or too hard for him.