Coffee With God

Reflection: Mark 6:7-13

The wise man in chapter 30 of the book of Proverbs asks the Lord for two things: “I ask you not to give me poverty and not to give me riches; let me have my piece of bread. Because if you give me riches, I could say to the Lord I am no longer interested in you because I have all that I like. Do not give me poverty because, in poverty, I might steal or even curse.’ These are the two things that the wise man asks for: neither riches nor poverty. When we have the necessities of life, when we have your daily bread, the rest belongs to the brother and the sister. Always keep in mind that at the end of our lives, as we pass through the gates of heaven, all the riches that were accumulated, but which we failed to share with the brothers and sisters and, therefore, have not been transformed into love, will be appropriated, taken away from us. St. Paul reminds us of our mission to help the weak by our hard labour as he recalls the words of Jesus, who said ‘it is more blessed to give than to receive’. Before sending out the disciples, Jesus gives instructions. First of all, he says what they can take for the road. What can they carry with them? In the Gospel according to Mark, a walking stick is permitted while Matthew and Luke say not to carry it. Why? Walking stick according to Matthew and Luke, is the symbol of the weapon of the poor. Matthew had insisted on the nonviolence of the disciple. Remember, it was Matthew alone who mentioned about Jesus asking Peter to keep his sword away on the night when Jesus was betrayed and captured. According to Matthew, God’s kingdom is not built by violence. Instead, in today’s passage from Mark, the walking stick has a different meaning. It is a symbol of God’s Mission to perform wonders: God gave Moses the staff with which he divided the Red Sea and provided water flow from the rock. It symbolizes the power that God gives to the disciples to carry out an extraordinary mission. And this is the only power the power of God’s Word and the Spirit of Christ that we need to rely on. We are all missionaries. On our journey, all our luggage is useless if we are not carrying the Word of God to bring God’s love and his forgiveness to those who live without hope. Be a missionary and miracles will follow! You will heal the sick, save the people from the “demons” that oppress their lives.