To the Center
Thursday of the Second Week of Lent Daily Reading : Mark 6:7 – 13 Focus Passage : Calling the Twelve to him, he began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over evil spirits. These were his instructions: "Take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. Wear sandals but not an extra shirt." (Mk. 6:7 – 9) Jesus sent his twelve disciples into the world to carry on his life-work. They went out to do the very things Jesus was doing. In essence, they were his feet and hands, his mind and heart, his ears and lips and eyes as they went into the world. The disciples had no special schooling for this Jesus-work of driving out demons and praying over the sick for healing. They had only their experience with Jesus, their apprenticeship to the One who did these things normally and naturally as a part of who he was. The passage moves quickly to Jesus “sending out” the Twelve, but if we miss the first phrase, the rest ...