a simple desire

Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. Matthew 10:34.

As Jesus chose his disciples, Matthew tells us, he gave them their marching orders: they were to wander among ‘the lost sheep of Israel’ saying that God’s reign was near at hand, giving as they had been given, completely dependent on God and the good graces of people they met for their daily provision. Idealistic, perhaps; until Jesus says, “I send you as sheep among wolves–be on your guard. Brother will betray brother … all will hate you because of me … when you are persecuted in one place, go to another; a student is not above his or her master.”

Jesus’s disciples carry a message and mission of peace and healing, yet will leave rifts in their wake. Jesus tells them this so they won’t be surprised or afraid; and to remind them that they do bring good, even if it is just the blessing of allowing others to be kind to them in meeting the simplest of their needs.

Some modern scholars see this passage as just a text for the itinerant charasmatic preachers who were common in the very early church. But their life and testimony can speak to our lives, too. Jesus calls us to live in the deep simplicity of dependence on the grace and provision of God; to live in full integrity, with our words and lives fully connected and undeterred by negative reactions; to bless others with peace, even when it raises up divisions; to be in a community of giving and receiving. He also calls us to be aware that we will likely be attacked even as we bring a message of reconciliation, but that some, at least, will join in.