You know how it is...
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You know how it is when you're packing for a long trip. You lay out all the things you
want, then you narrow it down to the things you need -- and all along, you ask yourself,
"What if it rains? What if my flight is canceled, and I have to spend an extra night? Do I
have enough money for every emergency? And, oh yes, Karl Malden says, be sure to buy
Travelers' Cheques!"
Before his disciples set out on their journey, Jesus tells them, "Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals." Disciples of Jesus Christ are meant to travel light. Everything that could possibly weigh them down or limit their response to human need is to be abandoned by the roadside. This teaching runs counter to powerful tendencies in American life. We are, all of us, awash in a growing tide of materialism, a thirst for ever-increasing doses of wealth and possessions. Sometimes our possessions seem, truly, to own us.
Walter Brueggemann has observed that there is a crucial decision we, as Christians, need to make about the world: We need to decide that we live not in a world of scarcity, but in a world of abundance. Surrounding us on every side are the fruits of God's good creation -- and, in that creation, we are never without the things we truly need. The lighter we travel through this life, the freer we will be to adventure with Jesus into places where his love meets the world's deep need.
Before his disciples set out on their journey, Jesus tells them, "Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals." Disciples of Jesus Christ are meant to travel light. Everything that could possibly weigh them down or limit their response to human need is to be abandoned by the roadside. This teaching runs counter to powerful tendencies in American life. We are, all of us, awash in a growing tide of materialism, a thirst for ever-increasing doses of wealth and possessions. Sometimes our possessions seem, truly, to own us.
Walter Brueggemann has observed that there is a crucial decision we, as Christians, need to make about the world: We need to decide that we live not in a world of scarcity, but in a world of abundance. Surrounding us on every side are the fruits of God's good creation -- and, in that creation, we are never without the things we truly need. The lighter we travel through this life, the freer we will be to adventure with Jesus into places where his love meets the world's deep need.
