From the Vicar
From Alison...
The second half of our gospel reading from Matthew 9. 35 – 10. 8 tells of Jesus sending out his twelve disciples as apostles. After Jesus requested prayer for more ministers in 10.1, he empowered the twelve apostles to carry on his ministry, especially exorcisms and healing. Then Matthew listed names of the Twelve. Notice the pairings of the list, beginning with two sets of brothers, then three pairs of individuals, and ending with an unusual pair. Simon of Canaan (literally ‘Simon the Cananaean’) did not refer to his place of birth, but to his nationalist fervour. However, there was very little revolution in Palestine during the life of Jesus. So, while Simon was probably not a revolutionary, his name does seem to indicate his distrust of the Romans and their collaborators, the religious leadership in Jerusalem.
However, Judas betrayed Jesus by plotting with these ‘collaborators.’ Indeed, the name ‘Iscariot’ could find its root in the Aramaic word for ‘deceiver’ or ‘false one.’ So, Matthew paired the extreme ends of the political spectrum among the common people, possibly to make a point. Jesus welcomed all to his ministry, even natural or political enemies.
We should ask ourselves about our own friends and neighbours and fellow workers? How are they different from one another? Pray about them and ask how you think Jesus would fit them into the Kingdom?
In 10:5-7, Jesus wanted his Apostles to serve Galilean Jews with the Good News and healing. Their ministry, like that of Jesus, would concentrate on the ‘house of Israel,’ the common people (10:6). Notice Matthew used the image of the lost sheep found in 9:36 again in 10:6. Jesus expected the Apostles to have the same success as he did.
Verse 10:8 listed particular signs of Messianic times: healing, raising the dead, cleansing lepers, and exorcisms. Signs that only the great prophets performed would become common place and they would be freely given (10:8). Like the forgiveness of sin, all other signs of the Kingdom were grace. This placed the Kingdom itself outside the economic and social systems of the day, yet, directly in the lives of the people.
How can St Dunstan’s Church ‘grace’ your friends, neighbours, and fellow workers? How can you help Jesus bring a touch of the Kingdom into their lives?
