Jesus had reasons for travel restrictions
We must remain faithful and trust Jesus' guidance in what we need to carry
July 16, 2006 -- 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time
By Fr. Michael Stubbs
Several years ago, I always carried a pocketknife with me whenever I flew on an airplane. You never know when you will need something like that. For example, once I used my pocketknife to cut open that little packet of peanuts.
Now, that has all changed. Sharp objects are not permitted on board, from fear of hijacking. There are strict rules on what you can carry on, because of 9-11.
Sunday's gospel reading lays down strict rules on what the Twelve can carry with them as
they travel. "He instructed them to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick, no food, no sack, no money in their belts. They were, however, to wear sandals but not a second tunic."
What are the reasons for these restrictions?
Throughout the ages, preachers have pointed to them as a warning for their congregations against accumulating too many material possessions, to encourage them to live according to the ideal of evangelical poverty. Owning too many things can impede our journey through this life on earth as we make our way towards our eternal destination of heaven.
That's a good spiritual message for us, but there are other interpretations that may pertain more directly to the disciples' situation.
For example, some scholars suggest that Jesus imposes these restrictions on the disciples
in order to keep them close to home, within Jewish territory, away from the Gentiles. The restrictions then fit in with the instruction that Jesus issues elsewhere, "Do not go into pagan territory or enter a Samaritan town. Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." (Matthew 10:5,6) Jesus wants to keep the disciples on a short leash. They are not allowed to take with them the things that they would need for a long trip.
Other scholars view these restrictions as reflecting the urgency of the mission Jesus has entrusted to the disciples. Material possessions would only weigh them down and slow their journey. The disciples are to travel lightly, in order to reach more people as quickly as possible. That urgency fits in with the central message that Jesus was preaching, "This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel." (Mark 1:15)
To complicate matters further, we should observe that these two explanations do not rule out each other. A third possibility would include them both.
How can we choose among all these interpretations? What exactly did Jesus mean by his instructions? The Scriptures themselves may not provide us with sufficient information to answer that question. In order to obtain an answer, we may have to wait until we can ask Jesus in person when we get to heaven.
Till then, we can dialogue with Jesus in prayer. Our state of ignorance invites us to reach out in faith, trusting that Jesus will guide us to know what we need to carry with us on our journey, according to whatever purpose he has set for us. Certainly, traveling lightly accords with a stance of faith. We rely on God, rather than on what we carry.
(Fr. Stubbs, a priest of the Archdiocese of Kansas City, Kansas, has a master's degree in theology from Harvard.)
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