Thursday of Week 4 of Ordinary Time – Gospel
7He called the twelve and began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. 8He ordered them to take nothing for their journey except a staff: no bread, no bag, no money in their belts, 9but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics. 10He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place. 11If any place will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you, as you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.” 12So they went out and proclaimed that all should repent. 13They cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.
Commentary on Mark 6:7-13
We now reach a new stage in the formation of Jesus’ disciples. There was a calling of the first disciples to be “fishers of people”, then the choosing of twelve who would share in the very work of Jesus. Now the Twelve, the foundation of the future community, are being sent out to do exactly the same work that Jesus has been doing.
They have been given authority over unclean spirits, they preach repentance—that radical conversion (Greek, metanoia) to the vision of the Kingdom—and they anoint the sick with oil and heal them. Notice that these three activities cover the whole person: spiritual, mental and physical; healing and wholeness; health and holiness. To be holy is to be whole.
They are instructed to travel lightly, bringing only what they absolutely need—no food or money or even a change of clothes. They will not need these things because they will be taken care of by the people they serve. They are to stay in the first house that takes them in. Overall, they are to show total dependence on and trust in God.
This is freedom at its best. It is a model repeated by many saints and founders of religious congregations. Do we really need all the baggage we carry through life? Even the ancient Greeks said: “Those are really rich whose needs are the least”. That is what Jesus is teaching us. And, of course, he was a living example.
The disciples went off and did the three central works of Jesus:
- They proclaimed the Kingdom and called for a radical change of heart from people, so that they might see life in the way that Jesus, the Son of God, was proclaiming.
- They liberated many people from evil influences and compulsions. Freedom is the essence of Christian discipleship.
- They anointed the sick with soothing oil and brought them healing and wholeness.
They not only preached the Kingdom; they made it a reality in people’s lives. This is what we too are all called to do within the circumstances of our life. Even having little, we are to give much.
