butterfly on wild ginger taken july 3 2005

July 6, 2005

The Kingdom is at Hand Mt 10:1-7

Jesus summoned his Twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out and to cure every disease and every illness. The names of the Twelve Apostles are these: first, Simon called Peter, and his brother Andrew; James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus; Simon the Cananean, and Judas Iscariot who betrayed Jesus.

Jesus sent out these Twelve after instructing them thus, "Do not go into pagan territory or enter a Samaritan town. Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.'"

The Kingdom of heaven is at hand...The disciples had the authority to heal. They are listed by name in this reading. The message means to me that God is here now. The disciplines throught the power of God are made able to cast out spirits and heal people. This is not to be taken lightly. God's healing power is made accessible to common people, the Twelve disciplines. I believe that we all have the abilities to be healing forces, instruments of God's healing powers in the world. Staying in the now and responding to the needs of those asking for or seeking healing is an important part of following Jesus.

For some reason, it is a striking thought that Judas, who would later betray Jesus could at this point have been traveling the countryside performing acts of healing and casting out spirits for those in need. It is difficult to picture the betrayer as the healer, but at this stage of the reading he must have been a healer as were the others among the Twelve who went out at Jesus' instruction.