If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it. But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you

 

 These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying:  "Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans.  But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.  And as you go, preach, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.'  Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons.  Freely you have received, freely give.  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.  

 

Now whatever city or town you enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and stay there till you go out.  And when you go into a household, greet it.  If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it.  But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you.  And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet.  Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!"

 

- Matthew 10:5–15 

 

On Saturday, we read that Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.  But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.  Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few.  Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest."  And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease.  Now the names of the twelve apostles are these:  first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; Simon the Cananite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.

 

 These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying:  "Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans.  But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.  And as you go, preach, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.'  Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons.  Freely you have received, freely give.  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."  My study Bible comments that the disciples' mission is like Christ's:  to preach and to heal.  Note that Jesus sends them only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.  My study Bible says that Christ's earthly ministry was focused on the Jews (Matthew 15:24) so that, after the Resurrection, the Jews could not blame the  disciples for going "to uncircumcised men" (Acts 11:3).  It notes that Jesus prepares the disciples to be single-minded in their mission to preach and heal.  He first reminds them that His power is free, in fact, a gift from God; and then instructs them to carry no money so that they cannot be accused of greed, and also so they would learn dependence upon God.  

 

"Now whatever city or town you enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and stay there till you go out.  And when you go into a household, greet it.  If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it.  But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you.  And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet.  Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!"  My study Bible notes here that Christ commissions His servants to give a greeting of peace, which is the same peace that was proclaimed by the prophets (Isaiah 52:7), the same peace He would offer to the disciples (John 14:27, 20:19), and the same peace which would be revealed as a fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22).  Note the responsibility for the acceptance or rejection of that peace rests upon those to whom it has been given, and the consequences of rejection.

What is this peace that Christ offers, and that by extension He commands His servants and representatives, the disciples sent out as apostles, to give to others?  My study Bible comments, as noted above, that it is the same peace proclaimed by the prophets.  Isaiah 52:7 says that the same One who proclaims peace is the One "who brings glad tidings of good things, who proclaims salvation, who says to Zion, 'Your God reigns!'"  Well, we certainly know who that is, for He is the One who brings the gospel to us.  Clearly the peace He offers is Himself, and is in Himself, and is extended to us in the Spirit which also gives this peace.  In a sense, this peace can also be called a confidence in Christ, for when we take heart in Christ, and find our identities in Him, we have a sense of the sureness of the rock upon which we build our home, our faith (see this reading).  Christ's peace is therefore a kind of energy (for want of a better word) or force that acts as a kind of power unto itself, and is found in His name, which we accept or reject.  Peace has also the meaning of reconciliation, and perhaps this is where we find the strongest sense of what Christ's peace is, for all things are reconciled in Christ.  In Him, all things are set in good order, and they are renewed, for He is the way, the truth, and the life not just for us, but for all of creation.  As Jesus begins His farewell discourse to the disciples at the Last Supper, He tells them (and all of us), "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me" (John 14:1), and this, too, is a statement of peace.  For this peace is a product of trust, and trust is the root of belief as Jesus uses the word here.  In fact, in the Greek, it's the very root of the word translated as "believe."  In Whom do we trust? In what do we trust?  How are we reconciled to Christ, the One who has the way, the truth, and the life for us?  For there, in that trust, is where we find our peace, when we know that despite all our uncertainties, and troubles, and not knowing, there is a place for us we can trust in, and our loyalty to Christ is not misplaced.  For ultimately, God is love, and we know He loved us (see 1 John 4:7-11).  When we offer Christ's peace, it seems, we offer all of these things, ultimately bound up in our trust in God's love through Christ who has taught us love through His life, and taught us to love as His new commandment (John 13:34-35).  These are the things in which we trust, He is the One in whom we trust.  The peace He offers is Himself, and there is no other like Him.