Disciples Travel Lightly

Rebecca Sheridan
Sunday, June 18, 2023
Matthew 9:35-10:23

As we enter into summer traveling mode, do you have your packing lists ready?  As many of you know, I’m a pretty “type A” kind of person. I like to think of myself as organized. I’m a planner. And yet, I can think of several occasions where crucial things were not included in our packing list.  One camping trip we arrived to discover we had no chairs – luckily, there was a picnic table at our site. Another time we had no way to light a fire – we had the propane for the camp stove and newspaper for the fire pit but no matches or lighter.  Before we started rubbing sticks together ala the Flintstones, we asked our neighbors if we could borrow a lighter.  Thankfully, they had several, and guess what? They had also forgotten something – coffee, which we, if you know Rich Sheridan, would never, ever forget.  We were happy to help each other out that camping trip and got to know some fun people!  Then there was the time that Grace had not packed any shirts, just pants and shorts, underwear and socks and a few dresses.  Fortunately, we were staying with friends who also had kids and could give us a few hand-me-downs!
In the gospel for today, when I hear how the disciples followed Jesus without an extra pair of sandals or shirt, money or even a bag, I wonder how they possibly did that!  Jesus challenges us to think about what we truly need to follow him.  If you could only bring three things with you on a trip, what would they be?  I’d say a change of clothes, a good book to read, and snacks, because I really don’t do well going without food for long.  But can most of us truly imagine going without much besides the clothes on our backs – no money? No phone? No…INTERNET SERVICE?!  The list of things we think we need for any trip, even if it’s just an overnight, can get pretty long pretty quickly.  The reality is, even if you forget things like me, you find that you can still live – there are stores, there are people out there to help, it’s only for a short time.  We can do more with less better than we think we can!
Keep in mind that in Jesus’ time, hotels weren’t really a concept like we have today.  It was more of an AirBnB situation for travelers, but the hosts/owners would be there with you the whole time, and there were no advanced reservations- more like living with a host family.  The social code of hospitality was strong in Israel.  If your house was along a road, and travelers came to your door, you were SUPPOSED to offer them a place to stay and food to eat.  It would have been incredibly rude not to receive a guest into your home, because travelers had very few other options for lodging.  In asking his disciples to travel lightly, Jesus is teaching them to trust in God’s provision rather than on their own self-reliance.  He’s pushing them to encounter others and build relationships with strangers in staying overnight with them, so they might share the good news that “the kingdom of heaven has come near” in the arrival of Jesus the Christ, rather than staying on their own alone.  Isn’t it interesting that Jesus teaches others to rely on him through having them rely on others?  Maybe there’s a lesson in there for us.  Jesus gives the disciples his power to “Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons.”  So it isn’t as if they aren’t offering anything in return for the hospitality they’ve received – they just can’t offer money or physical gifts as payment.  In fact, what they have to offer is of course incredibly better – healing, wholeness, new life and hope in Christ!  The good news that God’s kingdom is coming near in this man called Jesus.
So as modern-day disciples, followers of Jesus, how do WE travel lightly as we journey with Jesus?  The good news is we don’t have to go anywhere to share the good news today, but we can share God’s love in Christ right where we live and when we’re traveling.  It wouldn’t be culturally appropriate for us to just show up at a stranger’s house asking to stay the night in today’s day and age!  But I’ve definitely had more than one powerful conversation with my seatmate on an airplane while traveling, for example.  Or making new friends with fellow campers while exchanging matches for coffee!  And learning to rely on God when I let go of my need to control and plan so much.  
As we’ll continue to see as we read through the gospel of Matthew this summer, remember that you don’t need to have special tools or materials to follow Jesus.  Children as well as adults, men and women, rich and poor, are touched by Jesus’ teaching, healing touch, and forgiveness.  Following Jesus is not about what you have in terms of material possessions, but about what kinds of God-given gifts you might share to serve.  You have been named and claimed by Christ and given the power of the Holy Spirit.  Each of us has a variety of spiritual gifts to use to serve God, whether it’s the gift of hospitality or service, the ability to carry on a conversation with just about anyone, or do more behind-the-scenes work.  Paul encourages us in our second reading from Romans today to think about the spiritual gifts we all have as Christians:  faith, peace, grace, and hope!  “God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit!” Paul reminds us.  God’s love poured out through us is a gift that anyone at any age wherever you are can share!
So perhaps we can set aside for a few moments the anxiety of preparing our packing lists for summer travels and focus on what spiritual gifts God has given us to use for God’s service.  How might we use these gifts of faith, hope, peace, grace, and love?  What about our particular unique spiritual gifts?  Are you good at working with your hands or praying for others?  Do you find joy in encouraging others or getting out there to serve those in need?  In our striving to follow Jesus, we can travel lightly because God has already given us what we need in who we are.  We just need to figure out what those gifts are, if we’re not sure, and then pray and discern how we might use those gifts creatively to share God’s love with others.  I can recommend a pretty easy online spiritual gifts inventory you can take if you are curious to know more; or if you look at a list of spiritual gifts, you might know yourself well enough to spot the gifts you’ve been given.  Just like the first disciples, Jesus is calling us to follow – to leave extra unnecessary baggage behind like self-doubt, insecurity, materialism, and greed and instead travel lightly with Jesus.  Amen.