He summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over unclean spirits. 8 He instructed them to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick—no food, no sack, no money in their belts. 9 They were, however, to wear sandals but not a second tunic. 10 He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave from there. 11 Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you, leave there and shake the dust off your feet in testimony against them.” 12 So they went off and preached repentance. 13 They drove out many demons, and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.
Jesus selected the twelve disciples to be fishers of men (Mk. 1:16-20) and to go out and preach (Mk. 3:14). After they had been with him for a while learning about the Kingdom of God through parables and healings, he sent them out to preach. He also gave them the power to heal and perform exorcisms so as to give credence to their message of repentance. They became an extension of his ministry. They were not to take any means of support or any inner garment. They were not to worry about material or personal things and were to have total dependence on God.
Missionaries depended on local hospitality so the Twelve were instructed to remain as a guest at any hospitable house they entered and not to look for another house that might offer greater comforts. If they were not offered local hospitality, they were not to take any aggressive action against the place but shake the dust off their feet, symbolically indicating that the inhabitants have rejected the teaching of Jesus and they are severing relations with them and not accepting any further hospitality from them. The disciples would not be held responsible for them because they had shown themselves to be unworthy (Acts 13:51). Oil was commonly used for dressing wounds in ancient times. Anointing the sick with oil took on a new spiritual character because many of the sick were cured. This is the basis for the Catholic Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick.
Almighty God, you give each of us a ministry and the desire to go forth in faith and trust to lead others to Your kingdom. Grant us the grace to accept our ministry and the patience and fortitude to rely on your guidance. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
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