Wednesday after Sexagesima Sunday
Posted on February 7, 2024 by under
Scripture: St. Matthew 10:2-16 (NKJV)
11:2 Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Cananite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.
5 These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: “Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. 6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ 8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. 9 Provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your money belts, 10 nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs; for a worker is worthy of his food.
11 “Now whatever city or town you enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and stay there till you go out. 12 And when you go into a household, greet it. 13 If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it. But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. 14 And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet. 15 Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!
16 “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.”
Devotion
In today’s lesson we hear of our Lord’s first sending forth of the twelve. The twelve would only be away from the Lord for a brief time, and there are a number of differences between the way in which they were to provision for this journey, in contrast to the Lord’s instructions on the night when He was betrayed. (See Luke 22:35-36.) Also, they were specifically only sent to the lost sheep of Israel, whereas in the future they would be sent to all nations. However, the most important thing is unchanging: They were to proclaim the Word which the Lord sent them to proclaim.
Not all would receive the Word and the Lord told them how they were to respond to those who rejected the Gospel: “And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet. Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!” The sowers sowed the Word according to the commandment of the Lord.
As there were those who rejected the teaching of the apostles, so it will be to the end of the world. But for all who believe, it is on account of the work of the Holy Spirit.
Collect: O Lord God, Who seest that we put not our trust in anything that we do: Mercifully grant that by Thy power we may be defended against all adversity; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
