In these days of natural disasters, climates tragedies, war and famine we frequently see images of people fleeing with little more than the clothes on their backs. Sometimes we will see pictures of folks with some warning packing their cars full of belongings and preparing to evacuate. Today at our Communion Service I wondered how many of those attending had spent time deciding what they would take with them in case of such an emergency. Most everyone had, at one time or another thought about this question and were more or less prepared for such an emergency and the difficulties of closing the door on most all they own if circumstances demanded that of them.
So, on the Feast of St Luke today's first reading from 2 Timothy struck me with what Paul requests of those coming to support him and all this implied. He wants contact with his correspondents, of course; he wants and needs their support and encouragement, their prayer, news, and personal sharing. And he is grateful for their presence in his life, but in terms of "things" he asks only for the cloak he left in Troy (Turkey) and for the scrolls and parchments (books). He especially wants the books, the "parchments". Possibly approaching his own death in Rome, scholars believe Paul wants access to the stories of Jesus' life and ministry, and perhaps some of Paul's own letters as well. He has "put on Christ" in all that implies and needs little more than the texts which will help him come even closer to Christ and proclaim him to those around him. His needs are slight, a cloak he has had with him on 10's of 1000's of miles of journeying, shipwrecks, stonings, floggings, betrayals, abandonment, disappointments, successes, etc., and the Risen Christ who has accompanied, empowered, and transformed him with the unconditional love of God.
What struck me in the Gospel lection was very similar. Jesus sends disciples out two by two on purposeful and focused journeys. They are to bring peace to whomever they meet at their destination and proclaim the Kingdom of God is "at hand". They too have "put on Christ", received the Holy Spirit of Life and Truth, and been missioned to approach others without benefit of anything more than who they are in light of this inheritance. They are to bring no sack, no sandals, no moneybags; they are to close the door of their own homes and travel out to those places Christ desires and (with and in them?!) will visit. They are to accept whatever hospitality is offered to them, nor are they to move from house to house looking for better fare or accommodations. They are to offer the peace of Christ to whomever will receive it and not be troubled when it is rejected. Above all they are to be themselves in Christ, living examples of the Gospel of God in Christ.
In both of these readings the words I heard again and again were "integrity" and "freedom." Every Christian is called upon to be an Apostle of Christ. We are each of us sent into the world to proclaim the Gospel with our lives. (Paradoxically, hermits are sent out only to the extent we are sent into our hermitage or cell to dwell with Christ in solitude; it is in this way we become an incarnation of the Gospel lived for the sake of others.) We are each and all of us meant to be the Gospel that listens and responds to the needs of others with the heart and mind of Christ. We are to need nothing else than ourselves and the Christ who indwells and empowers us while we trust that insofar as this is who we truly are, it will be sufficient for all those we meet. Integrity. At the same time we are called to journey in Freedom without the need for props or external support and without the burdens of our own woundedness, limitations, or brokenness. As was true with Paul, and as he wrote to the Church in Philippi, even the things which once bound and crippled us can be opportunities for the proclamation of the Gospel. As Paul demonstrated to the Church in Galatia, showing up beaten and bruised and proclaiming the good news of a Crucified Christ was a sign of his credibility, not something that invalidated his message. In Christ Paul knew Freedom, especially freedom from arrogance and a merciless fanaticism and freedom for a humble and compassionate integrity.
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