“Take nothing for the journey but a walking stick—
no food, no sack, no money in their belts.”
Even though we are already in the 21
st century, the wisdom behind Jesus’ advice to his disciples is ever relevant and fresh. To partake in the mission of Christ needs single-mindedness and focus, so as not to be distracted from the core elements of the mission. More than an exhortation to avoid physical distractions, Jesus was actually checking how secure or insecure the disciples were as they begin their mission. When we start something significant or when we begin a particular job, there’s that natural need to feel adequate, to go beyond what is expected of us, to be super
prepared and, even at times, to show off. And there’s nothing explicitly wrong about feeling prepared and confident, but it shouldn’t undermine the greater and more important element: our complete trust and faith in God. We have to leave room for God to act in our lives and leave space for the Holy Spirit to collaborate with us. We sometimes act as if we are on a solo mission, until the mission gets tough and challenging, when we realize that we can’t do it alone. An important part in the preparation for the mission is to get rid of those personal insecurities and attitudes that get in the way of our own discipleship.
As baptized, we are all sent on a mission, I’m not referring to a missionary journey to a distant land like in Asia or Africa or to the Appalachians. Where is your mission field? You don’t have to look too far: Your mission field is your vocation— that’s where you are called to build the Kingdom of God. As you are dispatched or being dispatched to your own unique mission, are you bringing provisions that are potentially destructive or dangerous to your mission? Pride? Excessive self-reliance, years and years of emotional
baggage? How about addiction? Unfaithfulness? Pornography? Excessive desire for material things and positions of power? The need to control? How is your security or insecurity level? It is only when we are secure of the love of God and understand where our strength ultimately rests that we are able to fulfill the mission. Once we realize that the ultimate fulfillment of our mission lies on the grace of God, we won’t be exaggeratedly pushing ourselves to the point of breakdown and exhaustion. A religious leader who was asked what surprises him most about humanity said this: “Man surprises me most about humanity. Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then, he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then, he is so anxious about the future that he doesn’t enjoy the present; the result being that he doesn’t live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived.”
Don’t get me wrong—we need to do and exert our best, but it has to be balanced and carried out with a clear reliance on the providence of God. It’s interesting that Jesus told his disciples that the first thing that they had to say when they entered a home is “peace to this household.” They can only be true bringers of peace, if they themselves are at peace with their own strengths and limitations. Inner peace comes from a realization of the things that we can’t change, and being okay with it and, at the same time, having the passion of doing the things that we are capable of accomplishing. As you carry out your mission and find yourselves in your own unique mission field, do you have that peace that Christ talks about in the Gospel? Or, are you always perturbed, worried and disturbed? It’s only when we unmask ourselves of those insecurities that inner peace will reign, that authentic peace that comes, not from being the top in our workplace or in sales, not from
attaining the highest educational level, not from having millions in the bank but, from feeling secure simply as a daughter or son of God. – Fr. Cary