Acceptance

Luke 9:1-5 (The Message)

Jesus now called the Twelve and gave them authority and power to deal with all the demons and cure diseases.

He commissioned them to preach the news of God's kingdom and heal the sick.

He said, "Don't load yourselves up with equipment.

Keep it simple; you are the equipment.

And no luxury inns—get a modest place and be content there until you leave.

If you're not welcomed, leave town. Don't make a scene.

Shrug your shoulders and move on."

I think that this passage has often been a tough one to understand for many people.

Jesus commissions his disciples, giving them power to preach and heal.

Surely, "success" would be assured with such power and authority, right? Apparently not.

Even with Jesus seal of approval and commissioning, the disciples themselves will meet whole towns of people who are not ready to receive the good news.

The difficult-to-understand part?

In essence, Jesus says, "leave them alone and keep moving."

I know that there's some part of me that wishes Jesus would say something different. Something like, "keep preaching to them no matter what, and eventually they will respond." Or, "put them in your tickler file, and keep coming back every two months."

But that's not what he says.

We have far more discomfort over this than Jesus does.

And I think that's because he doesn't need the world's approval to validate his own worth.

Sometimes, we do.

It's easy for us to believe that the end-all goal of life is to be liked and admired by everyone. We can too easily come to think that our "success" and worth is tied to the affirmation we receive from others.

Jesus wants to be clear that this kind of thinking could not be more wrong.

What's the job of the disciple? To be faithful to the teacher. We are to carry forward, with love, grace and humility...but not with an unyielding need for acceptance.

"Keep it simple," Jesus says. And perhaps that's the greatest advice of all.

Prayer: Father, may you teach us the lessons of simplicity and confidence in you. We seek to live as disciples, inviting others to new life in your name. Keep us humble, keep us simple, and teach us to seek only your approval in this life.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. World without end. Amen.