Thought for the Day – Wednesday 8th July
‘Then Jesus went about among the
villages teaching. He called the twelve and began to send them out two by
two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. He ordered them to
take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in
their belts; but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics. He
said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave the
place. If any place will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you, as
you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against
them.” So they went out and proclaimed that all should repent. They
cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.’
(Mark 6: 6-13)
I came across my old ‘First Aid in English’ textbook the other day while
clearing out some books, it was a real trip down memory lane to see it once
more and to flick through it brought back so many memories of my childhood days
at Dykehead Primary in Shotts!
As I flicked through it I could literally picture myself sitting at my
desk in each of the classrooms with this book to my left and my jotter in front
of me working through all the different exercises on things such as plurals,
gender, group terms, similes, adverbs, adjectives, conjunctions, prepositions,
antonyms, homonyms, synonyms and all the rest!!
I then had fun reading all of the one hundred and eight proverbs which
I remember having to write out over a number of days three times each before
then giving an example of how that proverb would apply in real life. Something
I don’t remember doing however as a child but which I did enjoy during my
reminiscing the other day was taking time to see just how many of these
proverbs originated from the Book of Proverbs in the Bible and unsurprisingly
most did!
It was proverb one hundred and four which spoke to me most in relation
to today’s reading – there just below ‘Truth
will out’ and above ‘Union is
strength’ was the proverb which stated that ‘Two heads are better than one’. Actually looking at these three all
together now perhaps really all three apply to this particular reading!
Whenever we have a difficult situation to attend to, or a strange place
to go, or have to meet new people for the first time it always seems less
daunting when you have a companion at your side. If you do have a difficult
decision to make then two heads do seem to be better than one for you can talk
things through with another person before coming to any decision. I think Jesus
knew this, for even though he did take himself off from the crowds at times
generally he did so to speak with his constant companion God and he did also
surround himself with companions as he set out to take the good news to the
people in many different and strange places.
So, it should come as no surprise then to us that when the time comes
to send out his disciples into the wider world to share the good news of Jesus
that Jesus decides to send those disciples out in twos. He knows they will come
across difficult times, difficult people and difficult situations. He knows
they will be challenged and shunned and perhaps even driven out in some of the
places they visit but he also knows that if they work together – ‘union is strength’ and if they share
the truth - ‘truth will out’ and if
they support each other – ‘two heads are
better than one’ then the task he has given them will be easier for them
than if they were on their own.
This applies to us today too – we know the task we have to do – we know
we are to share the good news – we know at times that may lead us into
difficult situations meeting difficult people but here Jesus affirms for us
that the task he given us will be easier when we work together and gain support
from each other.
I think too, this thought is something we need to remember as we come to
leave lockdown. Many of us are anxious about stepping back out into our brand
new normal yet, if we know we have a companion walking with us into that brand
new normal then these words today can assure us that the stepping out will be
all the easier because of that companion’s presence.
Prayer
Loving Lord,
At times your words were ignored, rejected, belittled and unwelcome, as
we step out in your name to share your word and your love, give us courage to
step out in faith, make us bold to go where you would send us without
hesitation or fear, build our trust in your presence that we may know you are
with us, that you are providing for our every need, that you are our constant
companion on the way. Gracious Lord, support us in all we do in Jesus name. Amen
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