Jesus sends out the apostles on a trial mission, with very specific instructions. To begin, they are to travel two by two. Having a companion adds a sense of protection and support, but also adds an element of accountability. The disciples are also not to take with them food, money, or other supplies. In our contemporary cultural context, travelling so lightly might seem irresponsible. But the disciples are to rely on the hospitality code of their culture, whereby people were expected to receive travelers into their homes and provide for their needs.
Not traveling with money and possessions also puts the apostles into the lowest social hierarchy of their society, which ensures that they are to be received not because of their status or their resources but because of what Christ had entrusted them to share -- the Good News of the Gospel and his healing grace. They can offer no payment or material gift to their hosts. But they preach repentance, helping people turn away from their sins and experience the transforming forgiveness of God.
The apostles are also given the power to cast out evil spirits and to heal the sick. Ancient people were more aware of the presence of demonic influence in everyday life than we tend to be in our society. We often do not realize just how much we allow the demonic to influence us from day to day. But the contemporaries of Jesus did, and they reached out for deliverance from the forces of evil.
Physical illness was also often associated with demonic influence. Though today we tend not to draw that connection quite as much, we should not forget that there can be a strong connection between our spiritual and physical, as well as psychological well-being. In any case, the power to cure physical illness was one of the signs of the coming of the Messiah. By curing in the name of Jesus, the apostles show that the Messiah has come.
After being received into a house in a village, the apostles are to stay there until they are ready to leave the area. They are not to move over to another house to stay in. This restriction is meant to keep them from being distracted from their mission by the different families wanting to entertain them or to gain an advantage in the village by hosting the traveling preachers.
Jesus also instructs the apostles to "shake the dust off your feet in testimony against" a place that does not receive or listen to them. At first, the injunction might seem overly harsh, but by shaking the dust off their feet, the apostles are refusing to be influenced by the negative energy of those who reject them. They make a clean break and move on, leaving the judgment up to God alone.
In the passage for this Sunday, the apostles are merely on a trial mission to gain experience. Later, they will be sent out again to spend the rest of their lives proclaiming the Gospel to the world. As Jesus commissions the disciples at the end of his earthly ministry, he says to them: "All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age." (Matthew 28:18-20)
The Great Commission, as the words of Jesus above have come to be known, applies to all the disciples of Jesus, including to all of us. But we will not all become full-time missionaries who are preaching the Good News throughout the world. So how can we all proclaim the Gospel from day to day?
The first step is to live our lives grounded in our relationship with Christ, actively participating in the sacramental and prayer life of the Church. We need to proclaim Christ through how we conduct ourselves every day, both in terms of the larger life choices we make and also in terms of our actions from day to day. The next step is not to hide our faith, but to show it through the religious articles we wear, the sacred objects we display in our homes, the images we post on social media, and any other way we can indicate to the world that we are followers of Christ.
Third, we should look for opportunities to talk about our faith. We need to pray for the prudence to know when to bring up our faith and how while speaking with others. When someone seems receptive, when a moral decision is being discussed, when an ethical decision is being made - all those are opportunities to talk about the Gospel and we should do so without reservation. Lastly, we must not shy away from difficult choices as we live our lives committed to Christ. If we are faced with situations where any part of our lives would come into conflict with Christ, we must always chose Christ. The whole world must see that nothing is more important in our lives than our commitment to follow Christ.
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The readings for the Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B are:
Am 7:12-15
Ps 85:9-10, 11-12, 13-14
Eph 1:3-1
Mk 6:7-13
The full text can be found at the USCCB website.
Photo Credit: The Region of Galilee, where Jesus focused his ministry (c) 2016 by Zoltan Abraham.