He ordered them to
take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in
their belts; but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics. He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house,
stay there until you leave the place. If
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.” (Mark 6:
8-11)
Travelling light is an admirable concept, a noble goal
which, speaking for myself, is yet to be attained. Neither am I likely to reduce my lifestyle to
a staff, a pair of sandals and one shirt – carrying, says Jesus, no food, no
bag, no money. I am fond of being warm
and well fed, surrounded by books, and having some mobility. But in no way can this passage be read as a
general instruction for all Jesus’s followers.
He called to him “the twelve”, it says, and sent them out to share his
ministry, and gave them those instructions.
Our task, in our time and where we are, as always, is to discern what is
here to help and edify us.
First comes the phrase, nothing
for their journey except… For their
journey, in the Greek, is simply “on the road”[1]. Nothing
on the road except… One of the general
differences between much of human culture, and the life Jesus invites us to, is
indeed that Christian discipleship is seen as a journey. It contrasts with the surrounding culture
which prioritises safety and security, home and family, walls and fences,
defences, borders, right ways and wrong ways.
The culture of Jesus invites and enables us to move on, or at least be
open to moving on, to change, to ask questions.
Symbols of this include sitting light to possessions, travelling
light. Jesus pointed to the contrast
when he said that foxes have lairs, birds
have nests, but the Son of Man has
nowhere to lay his head[2]. Indeed, the whole concept of “following”
Jesus implies journeying, travelling on in life – inwardly moving and
listening, responding and changing, learning better, becoming more like
him. He is not challenging so much the inventory
of our possessions – although that may still be something to think about – rather
our need to own, possess, control, use and consume. The planet and its resources are reeling
because we have forgotten how to travel light.
It means also an end to shopping around. I think that is the point of the strange
instruction that they enter a town, stay in one home until they leave the
town. If the town is not interested or
hostile, then leave. Don’t argue the
point with anyone. Jesus leaves people
completely free to decide for themselves.
Move on, he says… shake off the dust.
We might ask, what are the implications for us, living now amid people, most
of whom report no interest in God or religion, and find life manageable, indeed
preferable, without all that. It is, as
it always was, much more a matter of how we live, inwardly and outwardly, than
of what we say or preach.
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