Daily Bread

As you go, proclaim the good news, “The kingdom of heaven has come near.” Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment. Take no gold, or silver, or copper in your belts, no bag for your journey, or two tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for labourers deserve their food. Whatever town or village you enter, find out who in it is worthy, and stay there until you leave. As you enter the house, greet it. If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet as you leave that house or town. Truly I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgement than for that town.

We had the Luke version of this passage in last Sunday's Daily Bread. Matthew's version comes across as somehow more direct or harsh, and it got me to wondering why this is the case.

There was an urgency to Jesus' directives. There was a job to be done, and there was no time to enter dialogue or waste time with those that would outright reject the disciples (and by association the gospel of Jesus Christ) as they carried out their task.

The whole ministry of Jesus spanned only a three year period, and the message that the Kingdom of Heaven was 'near' or 'at hand' was a message to the Jewish people that this was it, the moment for which they had been prepared and for which they had been waiting. It was time to find out if they would get with the programme or not. Matthew, writing to his Jewish audience, wanted to emphasise how this part of the story was a final roll call to God's mission before the impending death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus. The message of God's 'kingdom' or domain having arrived was accompanied with signs of this kingdom, and these included the curing of those who were sick in body and/or mind.

The day of judgment that Jesus was talking about was that day when he entered into glory by way of the cross. That was the day in the history of creation when everyone — past, present, and future — would be judged, and Jesus would be the judge. Would those in the present be found in Christ or not?

Everyone who has ever been, is, and will be, will have to go through that one moment in time and stand before the throne of God. For those of us living today, if we close our eyes, can we imagine ourselves standing at the foot of the cross and looking up at Jesus? Will we be found in Christ or not? Will we be, as the writer of the book of Revelation writes, be those who, "washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb."? (Revelation 7.14).

Christians preach the same message today — that God's dominion has arrived, with Jesus the Christ as ruler and judge. As our lives are so very short, there is an urgency to our response too. Will we choose fulness of life in the here and now and forever, or will we reject God and take a different path? Will we be found to be 'worthy', recognising our worth comes only from our humble admission that we need God in our lives?

Today's prayer is adapted from the verses of the song, Could I be called a Christian? by Steve Camp.

Holy God
Could I be called a Christian
if everybody knew
the secret thoughts and feelings
of everything I do?
Can others see the likeness
of Christ in me each day,
and can they hear you speaking
in every word I say?
Could I be called a Christian
If my faith I did not show,
if I did not go to places
where you would have me go?
To find my life I must lose it,
and to live I first must die.
Glory to you, Lord Jesus
cos through you I'm justified.