“On with the show, this is it”
Meditation – Tuesday, June 3, 2025
Luke 10: 1-17 (Forward, p. 36) CEV p. 1072
For those of you who are old enough to remember, this was the theme song for the Bugs Bunny show, but can’t we say that it is likewise of many things. For plays, musicals, and performances of every sort, there comes a time when the rehearsals must cease, and the show begin. And, in a sense, this is true of all life. Learning a skill or a trade must give way to actually practicing it for real, and studying for an exam eventually must give way to the exam itself.
In a sense this attitude is what lies behind Jesus’ instructions to the seventy-two followers He sent out on a mission trip. So, let’s look at the details:
-His purpose or plan: to send them to ‘every town and village where
He was about to go’. In other words, they were to be a kind of
advance party, perhaps to get things ready, but more likely to get
people ready to receive Him and hear Him.
-His priorities: workers are few, but the harvest is plentiful, so pray for
more harvesters. Meanwhile, get on with the task.
-His warning: it won’t necessarily be easy. “You will be like lambs
sent out into a pack of wolves.”
-His sense of urgency: don’t waste any time, get on with it, NOW!
Don’t spend a whole while gathering what you need for the trip.
Travel light and don’t waste time on the road (chatting with people
etc.)
-His provision: people will look after you on route, so don’t skip
around from place to place. Enjoy their hospitality, eat what they
provide and leave them with your blessing.
-His warning: not everyone will welcome you, so simply shake their
dust from your feet—a near Eastern way of expressing rejection—
and move on. Actually, there was more than just that. The rabbis
would dot this upon returning from a heathen land as a way of saying
to them, ‘You don’t belong to God. God wants no part of you.’ Think
of how insulting this would be to a Jewish community—a wake-up
call perhaps?
Now, let’s look at this account through fresh eyes, that is, through the lens of our own world and situation. Is there a similar urgency, with people presently perishing for lack of hearing God’s word? Is Jesus wanting to ‘visit’ our world, our community, and needing an advance crew, that is, us? Can we prepare His way perhaps, through our words and actions? Maybe the time for preparations is over, and it’s a matter of ‘on with the show, this is it.’
Forward notes: “Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; cure the sick who are there, and say to them, “The kingdom of God has come near to you” (verses 8-9).
“Welcoming others does indeed bring the kingdom of God nearer. I think of the ministry of hospitality offered by Episcopal Migration Ministries’ ecumenical partners in Murray, Kentucky, as they prepared to welcome a refugee family of five from Colombia to their community. Their work as an EMM Remote Placement Community Partner included offering support services like assistance enrolling the children in school, applying for social security cards, and providing short-term housing and basic necessities for the family. Imagine their surprise when, on the family’s first day in their new community, they invited members of the partner churches to stay for a birthday party in their new home—and even sent them home with plates of food! So often, when we set out to serve others, we find ourselves blessed.”
Moving Forward: “What do you know about Episcopal Migration Ministries? Spend some time learning about the organization’s work on their website at www.episcopalmigrationministries.org.”
Editor's Note: Forward Day by Day meditations are generally written more than a year before publication. This month’s meditations, written by Rev. Sarah Shipman of Episcopal Migration Ministries, are no exception. In the months since Rev. Shipman finished writing her meditations, her organization, Episcopal Migration Ministries, has experienced a dramatic shift because of the changes in U.S. immigration policy. References to EMM and its work may not reflect recent changes.