After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go. And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house!’ And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you. And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages. Do not go from house to house. Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you. Heal the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ (Luke 10:1-9 ESV)
Here we see Jesus in delegation mode. He’s spent loads of time with his disciples, teaching them with his words and way of life. Now, it’s time for them to learn by doing. They have been in gathered mode, now is time to scatter. So he sends them out with little…no moneybag, knapsack, sandals. He sends them with so little they will need to have refrigerator rights in other people’s homes to survive.
He wants them to rely on others. Full dependence on others, will teach them full dependence on him.
He asks them to find these people of peace by saying “peace on this house”. It almost sounds like a code word, but this was more about who the people are, and what God has already been doing in their lives to prepare them for the missionary’s arrival, and less about their response to a code word! If God has been making these people seek the peace of the kingdom of God, a travelling preaching proclaiming that message will be welcomed.
Look how deeply he wants these relationships to go. He wants them to stay with one family, and not go from house to house. He wants them to become family, to be vulnerable, completely known and trusted by others.
Question: Describe what you think a person of peace would be like. How would the disciples’ travels be different if they had more supplies?
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In this series on being great neighbours, that ends this week, we’ve looked at 6 shifts:
Stranger -> Neighbour -> Acquaintance -> Partner -> Friend -> Family
We’ve encouraged you to learn neighbours’ names, stories, work together, become friends, and now your challenge is to find people of peace in your life. Start sharing Redeem the Commute with them. Perhaps you could do the Marriage course with your spouse and some other couples. Or you could do the parenting courses with other parents. Then take Christianity 101 together, and then the daily challenges. Make a habit of eating together whenever you can, and talking about things that matter.
This is our vision, to be a network of small groups who are being the church. We don’t want to be a church you go to, but a church on the go. We don’t want you to just go to church, but to be the church every day. We’ll be the church when we are scattered around the GTA at work, and scattered around our various neighbourhoods, but also when we gather for community events. We started this with our outdoor movie night, and next we have a trivia night.
After that, we’ll have a Christmas event. We want it to be welcoming for local residents and families, generous for those in need, and introduces the story of the original Christmas party. We’re about to start planning, so let Ryan know if you would like to help!
In the next series, Becoming Like Family, we’ll look at what it means for you, and perhaps your own immediate family to be part of God’s family, called the church. See you there!
Challenge: Ask your person of peace for help with the party you’re planning. Then invite them to follow challenges, or another course, with you.
