The "Pretty Good Commission": Luke 9:3-10

I've adopted a Benedictine-style prayer excersize for my daily commute. You select a short bible passage, read the passage a few times, and them meditate on it, slowly conjuring up images in your mind that reflect the passage. Today I selected this passage from Luke.

Disclaimer: I don't pretend for this to be any kind of Gospel truth or hard and fast statement of faith... just what went through my mind as I prayed on this passage.

Luke 9:3-10

³He told them: "Take nothing for the journey—no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra tunic. ⁴Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that town. ⁵If people do not welcome you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave their town, as a testimony against them." ⁶So they set out and went from village to village, preaching the gospel and healing people everywhere.  ⁷Now Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was going on. And he was perplexed, because some were saying that John had been raised from the dead, ⁸others that Elijah had appeared, and still others that one of the prophets of long ago had come back to life. ⁹But Herod said, "I beheaded John. Who, then, is this I hear such things about?" And he tried to see him.
 ¹⁰When the apostles returned, they reported to Jesus what they had done. Then he took them with him and they withdrew by themselves to a town called Bethsaida

This morning I read this passage from Luke, which typically begins jesus's story of feeding the five thousand.  This passage, which previews the Great Commission (When Jesus returns to the disciples after the resurrection and sends them out to preach the word) sort of gets lost sometimes... but I like to think of it as the "Pretty Good Commission".  Jesus says go out, help others, if you aren't welcome, no sweat, just move on to the next town... and tell people about this glorious kingdom of God.

But that's not what I prayed about when I read this.

I prayed about Herod.  Herod. The same guy who killed John the Baptist, and who in a few years is going to allow for Jesus' trial... but look at what he says. First he is surprised that such works are going on, after all he did kill John the Baptist. he thought he was done with this. Then he asks to see Jesus.

Now, maybe this is wishful thinking, but this suggested to me that for a moment Herod got it. he understood there was a power out there, a spirit moving things around him, and even though he was king (though subservient to the romans) he couldn't control it. And he desperately wanted to understand it.

At that moment, Herod had two choices. to embrace that power. or to run from it.

Such an embrace would require a humbling of himself, becoming part of a larger community, and acknowledging that there is something out there, that actively benefits the lives of all of us right here.

To run from it, was, well, easier. He was still King. Lord of all he commanded, and that was that. He didn't have to care about the world around him. he could continue to tax the life out of those around him, send his checks to the Romans, and live a pretty comfortable life.

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Now picture Herod, and remember this is before there was a Christian Church. before there was any such thing as a Christian. The Jewish population was more or less controlled... with some key religious leaders who everyone listened to and obeyed, and no active displays of the Spirit other than sacrifices and observation of the Sabbath. But it was a very individual practice.  Each individual had to be a good Jew. But no one particularly cared if the Jewish people as a collective cared for each other.

That is, after all, why Jesus came down in the first place. To remind us that we are a community, a communion of souls, who can only grow that communion by caring for each other.

Think about Herod, and think about the Christian Church today. Are we a true communion of believers? Do we think of others first? Or do we too often exhibit a "me and jesus" attitude? Why is there so much emphasis on a "personal relationship with Jesus Christ"?  It is only through being in communion with others that we can even get to know Jesus in the first place, so what value is there in a personal relationship? 

As you go about your day, think about Herod, a lone individual convinced that he knew God's will because he was King... and think about the disciples, a lost group of friends praying together to empower this spirit that Jesus awakened in them.

Whether you consider yourself a Christian or not, try and listen to those around you. commune with your fellow man, go closer to the Spirit that resides inside of all of us. 

Our souls ache to be in communion with each other, this is what drives us to relationships, love, marriage, children. This is what keeps families together, and turns close friends into families over time. that aching that you feel inside to love each other.

I believe that ache is our soul trying to get closer to God. But sometimes we get so far away, we become so independent, that we are scared to go back. Because it may mean giving something up.  That's why Herod ran. he knew he couldn't give up all that he had...

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Jesus' "Pretty Good Commission" stands out for me because it is not just a call to go out and preach and heal. It is a call to commune with your fellow man.  Don't just stay inside! Go out! Talk to people! They don't have to be believers, they just have to be people. 

In a sense, Jesus is saying, go out and love your fellow man, and let the spirit grow through that relationship. Let God take care of the conversion part.