Post from July 21, 2023

”👟 RSD 1179 ✅ Today’s Verse: “‘Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.’” — Matthew 10:8

Message translation, Matthew 10:5-8: “Jesus sent his twelve harvest hands out with this charge: ‘Don’t begin by traveling to some far-off place to convert unbelievers. And don’t try to be dramatic by tackling some public enemy. Go to the lost, confused people right here in the neighborhood. Tell them that the kingdom is here. Bring health to the sick. Raise the dead. Touch the untouchables. Kick out the demons. You have been treated generously, so live generously.’”

Message translation, Matthew 10: 9-10: “‘Don’t think you have to put on a fund-raising campaign before you start. You don’t need a lot of equipment. You are the equipment, and all you need to keep that going is three meals a day. Travel light.’”

Do you remember random things from the earlier end your school days? Not prom in high school or when you yelled “I’m lost!” In the middle of the empty hallway on the first day of your freshman year, I’m talking about shotgunning that frozen juice (which was nasty and just tasted like purple) in 1st grade because you needed the tiny carton to make that Christmas ornament that looks like a house (and is still going strong almost 30 years later). Or maybe it’s that you still remember what part of the inside of that “there’s no way school funding paid for that” playhouse from Kindergarten looked like (and how you always hoped the fates that decided Centers would put you in there). There’s this one go-to I have from the 2nd grade; every now and then I’ll share it with the kids (my students) when we’re swapping school days stories. So, here’s the personal anecdote that nobody asked for. In 2nd grade, we had these large reading books (words and pictures, questions at the end—the works), and during Reading class, my teacher would pick one of the stories for us to read together and discuss as a class. The stories were a cornucopia of narratives and non-fiction informative pieces. Well, in flipping to the correct page, you’d pass by (or accidentally flip too many pages to) other stories, and you’d look for a second, often getting excited/curious, “Oooo—I wonder when we’ll get to read that one.” Each story seemed like a wonderful new adventure—except one. There was this story in the middle (maybe 2nd quarter) of the book entitled, “It’s an Armadillo!” and, after the first time I saw it, I DREADED passing by it again. Remember what I said about pictures? This had a large one at the top of the page (on a left page), and this picture was terrifying—I would do my best never to pass by it and would cover the left side of my book when journeying to the day’s designated story because that photo of the armadillo scared the 7-year-old 💩 out of me. I dreaded the day we’d have to read it, but I was always hoping maybe we wouldn’t get to the story during the year (see, we read from other texts as well, and I’d hear my mom (who taught middle school) and her teacher friends talk about what they would cover during the year (so I knew sometimes books had more in it than they needed, especially when they used other books too)…2nd grade me was very enterprising). I never told anyone cause none of my classmates seemed to have the same qualms about the story, and I didn’t want to be a baby about it.

The other piece of my 2nd grade journey you need to know: I had a speech impediment and would get pulled out of class for help with that. Science and Social Studies were already afforded the least amount of time in the curriculum, and the school considered that pulling me for speech therapy during recess or P.E. probably wasn’t the best idea, so they’d always pull me during either Reading or Math. I loved Speech, so I would be excited each time they’d come, and, when I’d return, the class would usually be working independently after the lesson, and I’d just read the story or look at the math examples and catch up on whatever the class did when I was gone—the teacher would give me a short explanation about what the class did, and I knew she was always there if I needed help or something (loved my teacher ☺️), but it was never anything hard (looking back: she probably planned it that way 💜). It wasn’t every day or anything, so it wasn’t ever a problem; this arrangement was Gucci.

Until one day. The planets aligned to open a portal of irony that 7-year-old me had never considered as a possibility. One day, I returned merrily from my speech therapy, and my teacher told me that the class had read a story (they were working on the assignment when I came back) and what page to turn to. She instructed me to read the story then answer the questions (like we’d done before) and to raise my hand if I needed help. No problem. I flipped to the page, and THERE IT WAS. They had read the story about the armadillo. I had been dreading this moment all year, and it happened to be the one I’d be on my own for. But, this was later in the year, so I psyched myself up for it. I just began reading, and when I arrived at the page, I put my hand over the top of it where the picture was while I was reading the text on that page and the one adjacent. Then, I turned the page—never to have to look at the armadillo again. Triumph. I don’t know why the armadillo scared me (I really think it was the picture); they’re actually pretty much harmless…pretty much.

Now what does that even have to do with today’s verse? This passage in Matthew is Jesus sending out his disciples to do mission work and to tell people about Him. He affords them the opportunity to perform miraculous works in His name so that many people could come to know Jesus. “Jesus called His twelve disciples to Him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness” (Matthew 10:1). “Cleanse those who have leprosy.” Leprosy was devastating: it caused many physical ailments like massive and disfiguring skin lesions, paralysis, blindness, and serious nerve damage, but it also caused emotional and societal ailments because no one knew how you got it or what to do about it, so people with leprosy were outcasted…for life. Sadder, still, is that people believed those with the disease to be cursed or punished by God. “Hey, shouldn’t have been acting a fool, and you wouldn’t have leprosy.” No compassion whatsoever. So, you’d have leprosy, and you’d also have everyone telling you that you were a terrible person for having it. Imagine suddenly not having leprosy anymore: answered prayers. Today, leprosy (Hansen’s disease) is actually curable with antibiotics (yeah, you’ll need a longer time with them, but it’s totally doable). The leprosy mention in today’s verse is why you got that charming anecdote about the armadillo: guess what animal carries the bacteria which causes leprosy (and so do some monkeys). So, if you’re ever hunting “Hoover hogs,” as my grandfather would call them, just proceed with caution. What about the other things? If you were possessed by an unclean spirit (demon), that carried a host of problems, both physical and social. So, you pretty much get the idea. “Hey, go out and help the people that no one else will, and I’ll give you the tools to do it. Let them know they have salvation in Jesus the Messiah.”

The Message translation gives us the societal implications that these people who needed help were all facing: “‘touch the untouchables.’” Untouchable. Imagine having everyone tell you you’re untouchable. Disgusting. Vile. Unable to coexist with the rest of decent humankind. Jesus didn’t see people this way. Jesus wanted to give aid and compassion to those who needed it most, and He wanted the disciples to aid in this effort. Firstly, so that they could reach many people, but also so that they could learn what it means to serve God. Sometimes, service is scary, intimidating, and, yeah, maybe a little icky, but all of that doesn’t matter more than the need for service does. They were given gifts, and they could serve God just by using what He had given them. “‘Go to the lost, confused people right here in the neighborhood. Tell them that the kingdom is here.’”

The disciples went out and did these miraculous things (with the Lord’s help)—literally curing the incurable (no antibiotics back then) and performing other miracles in front of people so they could get to know the wonders of God and learn about their Savior, Jesus. So, what does that have to do with us? Yeah, don’t touch an armadillo—we’re in Texas, so that actually might be good advice, even though leprosy isn’t as catchy as once thought. And, we’re not really called to raise the dead…are we? Well, not in the way Jesus did, but maybe we can heed this call in our own way, using the gifts God gave us. It’s not that we don’t have special gifts like the disciples did—it’s that our special gifts just look different (more subtle, you know?). Raise the dead. You know, in modern language, people use the word “dead” colloquially quite often. There are things like despair that people seem to cast aside, but maybe we shouldn’t. You know, there’s this line in the show “Rizzoli & Isles” (detective show, two women…homicide detective (Jane) and medical examiner (Maura)…you’re caught up), where the two main characters are talking about this criminal (who was murdered). As it turns out, he’s related (half brother) to Maura, and she’s wondering if being a criminal runs in the family (the father she and this guy share is a mobster). Jane comforts her by saying that the half-brother wasn’t a murderer like the dad; Maura points out that his work with computer hacking and financial crimes (stealing retirements, life savings) was “killing people in other ways” because he ruined futures. My point: Jesus’s charge of “‘Bring[ing] health to the sick. Rais[ing] the dead. Touch[ing] the untouchables. Kick[ing] out the demons’” still has a lot to do with us. And, no, most of us are not qualified to perform exorcisms (we’ll leave that to highly-trained priests), but do you know anyone dealing with addiction? Yeah, a person needs professional help to deal with that kind of thing, but maybe you can help them “kick out the demon” by offering encouragement. “Hey, you got your 90 day chip—that’s awesome! Keep going!” Maybe add, “I know that’s hard and a lot of work, so I’m going to keep praying for you.” It can be as simple as that. Maybe it’s not addition but some other habit (or something) they’re trying to change for the better where having some encouragement really would mean a lot. Yeah, most of us aren’t doctors, but you could drive some soup by a sick friend’s house or sign up for a meal train for someone who has a serious illness in the family. You could also text, “Hey, I’m thinking about you, and I’m here if you need to talk” to a friend with a broken heart. Injuries and sickness aren’t always physical, you know. “Rais[ing] the dead”—maybe you have a friend or family member that has just had their butt kicked by life lately, and you can see their spirit starting to fade. That same text would work as a starting point there as well. Or, somebody with a lot of responsibilities who is making it, but you can tell they need a break: “Hey, let me do ______ for you. I have the time.” Maybe modern-day “bring[ing] health to the sick [and] rais[ing] the dead” is really just holding each other up in love and service, and Jesus emphasizes doing this in your own town, in your own backyard. You don’t need to search far and wide for people who just need some love and compassion (“far and wide” is the calling for some, but for most of us, we are called to “bloom where [we] are planted”).

We’ve talked about big service really being a series of small things and that you don’t need to make big or deep footprints in the ground to have traveled far and with purpose. In the verses following today’s verse in Matthew 10:8, Jesus emphasizes this to His disciples, “‘You don’t need a lot of equipment. You are the equipment…Travel light.’” Jesus gave them exactly what they needed and expected them to “‘freely give’” use of said gifts. “Freely give” isn’t just money, it’s heart. He didn’t want the disciples thinking too much about whether or not they should do the things. “‘You have been treated generously, so live generously.’” You know, I don’t remember paying anything for my gifts, the things I can do and am pretty good at. Did you? No, we were given these abilities, had them painted into us by God. Yeah, I’m sure the disciples were nervous—I mean, people were super skeptical and judgey back in the day—they could’ve had a host of things happen when they were just trying to do God’s work…but they did it anyway. See, using our gifts isn’t always going to be comfortable or convenient, but we should use them anyway. What—maybe it’ll be awkward? Y’all, I had milk come out of my nose in the cafeteria in front of everyone…in the TENTH GRADE…you’re fine. In all seriousness, sometimes using our gifts can be super intimidating, scary even, and, yeah God could just make that situation for that person better without our help, but He calls us to do it because that’s how we’re going to develop into who we’re supposed to be. God knows that sometimes building each other makes more sense to our human brains because it’s something easier to comprehend, and seeing other people use their gifts encourages us to do the same. Camaraderie. “Hey, if they can do _____, maybe I can _____.” Why do you think we all like watching the Olympics so much? So, we can put ourselves out there. Sometimes it’s scary; sometimes you have to read the story on your own without the teacher, put your hand over the picture, and keep going—the Teacher’s “always there if [you need] help or something.” But, I think we’ll find that, as we do more of what we’re called to, maybe the more people will see that “‘The kingdom of Heaven has come near.’” And, by people, I mean that sometimes the “people” who need to see it most is the one “people” we see in our own reflection.

Today’s photo is one from the story in my 2nd grade reader that I covered with my hand…tell me that 7-year-old me didn’t have a point.”