June 24, 2014 Tuesday of the Third Week after Pentecost Requirements for Discipleship – Material Provisions: Matthew 10:9-15, especially vss. 9-10: “Provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your money belts, nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs; for a worker is worthy of his food.” When the Lord Jesus empowers His twelve apostles to minister in His name, He defines the mission before them as preaching, healing, and exorcising evil spirits (vss. 10:1-8). At the same time He teaches them about God’s provisions for His disciples. These are material (vss. 9-15), personal (vss. 16-23), and spiritual (vss. 24-31), including an ultimate provision (vss. 32-42). In today’s gospel passage the Lord Jesus reviews the material provisions we need as we engage in the task of proclaiming the kingdom of heaven. Christ’s words have an austere, even severe, ring to them, for the disciple is to make no provision for anything, including finances, food, and clothing. Does the Lord really believe that such a stringent standard can be met? Does He think we require no money, nor food and drink, nor clothing? Does He utterly disdain our material needs? Of course not! When Christ our God commands us to “provide neither gold nor silver,” etc. (vs. 9), He uses a verb that implies possession, but with a lack of complete control. The Lord’s meaning is that we disciples should not invest our foremost life energy in guaranteeing ourselves a supply of money and material goods. If we seek to amass a strong cash reserve, it requires us to abandon our primary task as disciples. The Lord’s point is very simple: we cannot focus on two opposing life tasks. Our lives are dedicated to proclaiming His kingdom, whatever our work may be. This message resonates with the Lord Jesus’ earlier statement in the Sermon on the Mount: “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon” (vs. 6:24). In this life, it takes intensive effort to achieve a financial position which gives us anything resembling complete control. Our life becomes consumed with achieving temporary fiscal security. This is why the Lord teaches us to rid ourselves of “worry about . . . life, what you will eat or what you will drink . . . or what you will put on. . . . For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things” (vss. 6:25, 32). The Lord offers another reason for why He commands us to resist making material concerns our primary focus in life: “A worker is worthy of his food” (vs. 10:10). The Lord assumes that any disciple whose first concern is the kingdom will be deemed worthy to receive food from someone. The assumption is that there is a network, or fellowship, of disciples and supporters who are God’s servants, sharing the disciple’s commitment to preaching, healing, and exorcism. Who belongs to this network? We do, of course, in the Church. The Lord assumes the existence of the Church when He directs the disciples to seek out those who are worthy in a city or town. He reminds us that we are not alone. Each of us must inquire, “Where is the Church?” Orthodox Christians in community share a common mission, and all who are worthy provide for one another in carrying out that common ministry. The Lord Jesus knows that His disciples will encounter situations in which support will not be forthcoming. Nonetheless, His mission is for them to go forward. Those who understood the true missionary spirit – for example, Saints Paul, Thekla, Priscilla, and Aquila – worked at trades to supply their immediate needs. However, they always kept their focus on the Kingdom of God, giving freely as they had received from the Lord (vs. 10:8). O all-provident Lord, deliver us from indifference to the mission of Thy Church, that we may spend ourselves in proclamation to, and the healing and deliverance of all people. – Saint Nikolai of Zicha
Posted on: Tue, 24 Jun 2014 02:33:32 +0000
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