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Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases. He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. And He said to them, "Take nothing for the journey, neither staffs nor bag nor bread nor money; and do not have two tunics apiece. Whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart. And whoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet as a testimony against them." So they departed and went through the towns, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.
Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by Him; and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead, and by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the old prophets had risen again. Herod said, "John I have beheaded, but who is this of whom I hear such things?" So he sought to see Him.
And the apostles, when they had returned, told Him all that they had done. Then He took them and went aside privately into a deserted place belonging to the city called Bethsaida. But when the multitudes knew it, they followed Him; and He received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who had need of healing. When the day began to wear away, the twelve came and said to Him, "Send the multitude away, that they may go into the surrounding towns and country, and lodge and get provisions; for we are in a deserted place here." But He said to them, "You give them something to eat." And they said, "We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless we go and buy food for all these people." For there were about five thousand men. Then He said to His disciples, "Make them sit down in groups of fifty." And they did so, and made them all sit down. Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude. So they all ate and were filled, and twelve baskets of the leftover fragments were taken up by them.
- Luke 9:1-17
Yesterday, we read that when Jesus returned from across the Sea of Galilee, the multitude welcomed Him, for they were all waiting for Him. And behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue. And he fell down at Jesus' feet and begged Him to come to his house, for he had an only daughter about twelve years of age, and she was dying. But as He went, the multitudes thronged Him. Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any, came from behind and touched the border of His garment. And immediately her flow of blood stopped. And Jesus said, "Who touched Me?" When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, "Master, the multitudes throng and press You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?'" But Jesus said, "Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me." Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately. And He said to her, "Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well. Go in peace." While He was still speaking, someone came from the ruler of the synagogue's house, saying to him, "Your daughter is dead. Do not trouble the Teacher." But when Jesus heard it, He answered him, saying, "Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be made well." When He came into the house, He permitted no one to go in except Peter, James, and John, and the father and mother of the girl. Now all wept and mourned for her; but He said, "Do not weep; she is not dead, but sleeping." And they ridiculed Him, knowing that she was dead. But He put them all outside, took her by the hand and called, saying, "Little girl, arise." Then her spirit returned, and she arose immediately. And He commanded that she be given something to eat. And her parents were astonished but He charged them to tell no one what had happened.
Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases. He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. And He said to them, "Take nothing for the journey, neither staffs nor bag nor bread nor money; and do not have two tunics apiece. Whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart. And whoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet as a testimony against them." So they departed and went through the towns, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere. We note again that disciple and apostle are terms that are interchangeable for these men: a disciple is a "learner" while an apostle is one who is "sent out." Here, the momentous news is that they are sent out on their first mission. We note that they share in Jesus' power given to them, to preach and to heal. They are to be totally reliant on the providence of God. Not changing houses is often seen as an imperative to humility, not to change for better accommodation but to stick with those who have an immediate response to them. People are also free to refuse, with the dust shaken from the apostles' feet as the only response or rebuke.
Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by Him; and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead, and by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the old prophets had risen again. Herod said, "John I have beheaded, but who is this of whom I hear such things?" So he sought to see Him. My study bible says that this is the same Herod to whom Pilate would send Jesus during His trial (23:7). He's the son of Herod who slew the innocent infants in Bethlehem (Matthew 2:16). The incident of the beheading of St. John is found in Mark 6:14-28.
And the apostles, when they had returned, told Him all that they had done. Then He took them and went aside privately into a deserted place belonging to the city called Bethsaida. But when the multitudes knew it, they followed Him; and He received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who had need of healing. When the day began to wear away, the twelve came and said to Him, "Send the multitude away, that they may go into the surrounding towns and country, and lodge and get provisions; for we are in a deserted place here." But He said to them, "You give them something to eat." And they said, "We have no more than five loaves and tow fish, unless we go and buy food for all these people." For there were about five thousand men. Then He said to His disciples, "Make them sit down in groups of fifty." And they did so, and made them all sit down. Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude. So they all ate and were filled, and twelve baskets of the leftover fragments were taken up by them. My study bible says, "Theophylact sees a liturgical parallel with the feeding of the five thousand. Here Christ first healed and spoke of the gospel, and then fed the multitude with the miraculous bread by the hands of His disciples. In the Church, a person is first healed through baptism; then at the Liturgy, the gospel is preached and the bread of life and the cup are received from the hands of the ordained clergy."
The interesting thing to see in today's reading is this sharing and spreading of Christ's power. It starts with Him, it's rooted in Him. It's His authority as well (as when we're told that people were astonished that He spoke with authority). But those who are His disciples live with Him, come to learn from this close encounter, in order to be like Him. And when they get to a certain point in their discipleship, they are sent out in order to share in that power, and distribute it to others. Here we see a true blossoming, the fruit of the seeds of the Sower. So, as my study bible points out, the reading (in both the sending out of the apostles and the feeding of five thousand) mirrors what is given in the liturgy, and thereby what we are to be about in our lives. Christ's authority and power is brought into the world in order to be in relationship to us, and so we may - not as the Source of this power and authority, but as participants - share in this power and distribute it as well. It heals, it feeds, it clothes, it cares for, it nurtures. But above all, we participate in the love of the Creator, the One who is the Source of love, in order to share it. If we think of Church as that which spreads and distributes via relationship to the Source, we can ask ourselves many questions. How does this happen exactly? Does it happen only on a macro scale, in great movements? Does it happen on a micro scale, perhaps even in a one-to-one intimacy, in private moments nobody else knows about, in encounter where we too may connect and make a circuit in faith, as with the woman with the bloodflow who was healed by her faith? (See yesterday's reading.) Is it in the moments where we bolster our faith by setting aside those who ridicule, or who would trample the good things we can share under their feet? If we think about it, the action exemplified in today's reading via both the sending out of the apostles and the feeding of the five thousand is something we are called to share in myriad ways. God will provide the opportunities for us to rely upon and share in this power and authority, to put it to use in all kinds of ways in our lives. Perhaps this is what it means not to sleep, and to be alert to each call of the Master at all times, each command, even as we await His return. It is to be awake to all the opportunities to be disciples, to share in all He offers to share and asks us to distribute for Him. It's a most important concept, something entirely central to our faith. In the middle of the actions we're taught about today, there is the curiosity of Herod, the one who beheaded John in favor of his wife and her daughter, the one who was then curious about John and now curious about Jesus. That's not the kind of interest that invites discipleship; it is in fact a way of looking at the things of God in order to possibly use them. Herod Antipas will show the fruits of this sort of curiosity. Faith, however, brings us into an entirely different place, one that is ordered by the authority of Christ to direct our lives, to teach us how to be alert as He wishes, to carry out His plans, to share in His ministry, and His love, His kind of relationship. Let us think about the difference.
