And if any place does not welcome you and people refuse to listen to you...!

Mark 6:7-13

Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out in pairs giving them authority over the unclean spirits. And he instructed them to take nothing for the journey except a staff – no bread, no haversack, no coppers for their purses. They were to wear sandals but, he added, ‘Do not take a spare tunic.’ And he said to them, ‘If you enter a house anywhere, stay there until you leave the district. And if any place does not welcome you and people refuse to listen to you, as you walk away shake off the dust from under your feet as a sign to them.’ So they set off to preach repentance; and they cast out many devils, and anointed many sick people with oil and cured them.

Food for thought!

This is the first time that Jesus sends out his disciples. It is like sending them for an internship after training them. Jesus is here acting many things: he is acting like a teacher, a manager, a leader, a trainer or coach. Everything Jesus does in this reading is worth noting: he sends the Twelve in pairs, he gives them authority, he instructs them on dos and don'ts, and finally he prepares them for both success and failure. Let us look at each one of these.

Sends them in pairs. The lesson is clear. We never realize great things alone; we may dream alone, but we cannot realize our dreams alone; we need others. We need a friend, a good friend, who walks not in front of us (for us to follow), who walks not behind us (for us to lead), but who walks beside us, as a friend. Do you have someone like this?

Gives them authority. Jesus never sends us to do anything without equipping us for it. He always equips us for whatever he sends us to do; he gives authority. What is authority? The word authority comes from Latin "augere" to augment, to increase, to multiply. The first time we were given authority was in Old Testament: "God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply (increase), and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” (Gen. 1:28). Jesus came to recreate us; to make us increase; to make us do more and be more.

Instructed them: take nothing but the staff. What does this mean? Well, remember Moses' staff in the OT. He carried a stick (staff) by his side throughout the desert and used it in all the important milestones in the desert, like to divide and close the Red Sea, to produce water from a rock, to invoke plagues on the Egyptians, and on several occasion was transformed into a snake and back. The staff stands therefore for the power of God. Jesus empowers his own. That is why he told them never to trust in anything, except a staff – no bread, no haversack, no coppers for their purses. What we all need is the power of God, Symbolized by the staff; the rest is rest.

Success & Failure. Jesus warns us to expect both success and failure in our endeavours. Whatever comes, and whenever it comes take it. If success comes your way, take it; if it is failure take it and move on; don't hold on your past successes or failures; keep going forward. Jesus is teaching us that problems and failures are inevitable in the life of anyone who seeks to make a difference in life. Even with all instructions from Jesus, even with all academic degrees, even with all experience, we are bound to fail sometimes. And Jesus knows it. That's why he teaches his disciples not only how to win but also how to loose.

Jesus is saying to us, when we loose, not to dwell too long on the loss and allow it to rob our lives of enthusiasm and joy. So we must learn to shake off the dust of yesterday’s failure from our feet, otherwise it will cling to us and accumulate and weigh us down. The result is depression and despair and giving up. We quit instead of going on to a new village, to a new project, to new opportunities. But Jesus does not want us to be quitters. He wants us to be women and men who move on, despite losses and disappointments. Move on!