The Person of Peace - Matthew 10:9-15
Matthew 10:9 “Do not get any gold or silver or copper to take with you in your belts— 10 no bag for the journey or extra shirt or sandals or a staff, for the worker is worth his keep. 11 Whatever town or village you enter, search there for some worthy person and stay at their house until you leave. 12 As you enter the home, give it your greeting. 13 If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you. 14 If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet. 15 Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.
Reflection: Now that Jesus has given his apostles the content of their message, "Repent because the kingdom of heaven has come near!" He proceeds to give them instructions both on who they are to go to, and how they should approach the people they seek to reach, namely the lost sheep of Israel, or the Jews. Notice too Jesus only focused on his fellow Jews, though later he would command the disciples to make disciples of all nations (all ethnicities). Jesus will be not only be calling them to reach people, but teaching them how to rely on God's provision. Instead of loading themselves down with a bunch of stuff, Jesus instructs them only to bring their clothes on their back and shoes/sandals on their feet.
And where would they be provided for? Through the people of peace in the towns they would journey to. As they enter into each town they are to look for a "worthy" person of peace. Notice it doesn't just say anyone who will take you in, but someone who is worthy. Worthy is in the sense of being open to them personally, but probably more importantly open to the message of the Good News of the kingdom they will announce. Then Jesus says if the home is worthy give it your greeting, which is also rendered salutation. Meaning they are to be respectful and diplomatic and not just barge in and say, "what's there to eat in this house!"
And the other part of the message is one of "peace". The message of the kingdom is one of peace, because the peace of God which passes all understanding has come near in Jesus. This is where we get the tradition in the church of what we call "passing the peace". We say each Sunday, every service to each other, "the peace of The Lord be with you" and the proper response is "and also with you". You might say that is just an empty ritual it doesn't mean anything. But I have found when you truly understand what that peace is and look into someone's eyes and say these words truly the peace of Christ is there and it is a very powerful moment in the service. This is similar to when we say when giving out communion, "the body of Christ given for you, the blood of Christ shed for you". Of course the key phrase is these things are given to you! It is a gift of Christ given to us to receive His body and blood and also His peace.
Finally, these words are a good reminder that as we go out to share the Good News, there are people today who God has prepared to be people of peace of us, just like the disciples. And the other reality is that there will people not open to the Good News. But we need not take it personally, as if they rejected Jesus and his disciples will we be any different? It is not our job to make people open or receptive, but only to plant the seed as we know only God makes it grow.
Do you see the freedom here? The adventure of the Christian life of finding people of peace who are worthy to receive the message is an exciting one. As we look for the latest evangelism strategy, we mustn't forget the one that Jesus used and taught his disciples to use. I really don't think we can improve on it. Notice evangelism isn't a program but a way of life for every believer which is orchestrated by God through the Holy Spirit. Our job is to listen for God's still, small voice and to obey it when he calls us to share the gift of Christ's love with others in word and deed. Freely we have received and freely we share it with those who are open to it. Really it's that simple!
Jesus thank you for preparing us to be people of peace for Your Good News. Help us to be open how you can use us every day as we find people worthy to spend our time and loves with as we live out the Good News every day. Amen.
Reflection: Now that Jesus has given his apostles the content of their message, "Repent because the kingdom of heaven has come near!" He proceeds to give them instructions both on who they are to go to, and how they should approach the people they seek to reach, namely the lost sheep of Israel, or the Jews. Notice too Jesus only focused on his fellow Jews, though later he would command the disciples to make disciples of all nations (all ethnicities). Jesus will be not only be calling them to reach people, but teaching them how to rely on God's provision. Instead of loading themselves down with a bunch of stuff, Jesus instructs them only to bring their clothes on their back and shoes/sandals on their feet.
And where would they be provided for? Through the people of peace in the towns they would journey to. As they enter into each town they are to look for a "worthy" person of peace. Notice it doesn't just say anyone who will take you in, but someone who is worthy. Worthy is in the sense of being open to them personally, but probably more importantly open to the message of the Good News of the kingdom they will announce. Then Jesus says if the home is worthy give it your greeting, which is also rendered salutation. Meaning they are to be respectful and diplomatic and not just barge in and say, "what's there to eat in this house!"
And the other part of the message is one of "peace". The message of the kingdom is one of peace, because the peace of God which passes all understanding has come near in Jesus. This is where we get the tradition in the church of what we call "passing the peace". We say each Sunday, every service to each other, "the peace of The Lord be with you" and the proper response is "and also with you". You might say that is just an empty ritual it doesn't mean anything. But I have found when you truly understand what that peace is and look into someone's eyes and say these words truly the peace of Christ is there and it is a very powerful moment in the service. This is similar to when we say when giving out communion, "the body of Christ given for you, the blood of Christ shed for you". Of course the key phrase is these things are given to you! It is a gift of Christ given to us to receive His body and blood and also His peace.
Finally, these words are a good reminder that as we go out to share the Good News, there are people today who God has prepared to be people of peace of us, just like the disciples. And the other reality is that there will people not open to the Good News. But we need not take it personally, as if they rejected Jesus and his disciples will we be any different? It is not our job to make people open or receptive, but only to plant the seed as we know only God makes it grow.
Do you see the freedom here? The adventure of the Christian life of finding people of peace who are worthy to receive the message is an exciting one. As we look for the latest evangelism strategy, we mustn't forget the one that Jesus used and taught his disciples to use. I really don't think we can improve on it. Notice evangelism isn't a program but a way of life for every believer which is orchestrated by God through the Holy Spirit. Our job is to listen for God's still, small voice and to obey it when he calls us to share the gift of Christ's love with others in word and deed. Freely we have received and freely we share it with those who are open to it. Really it's that simple!
Jesus thank you for preparing us to be people of peace for Your Good News. Help us to be open how you can use us every day as we find people worthy to spend our time and loves with as we live out the Good News every day. Amen.
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