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July 10, 2014

Traveling is something we all do. We pack a bag for our journey. Some pack next to nothing, while others pack too much. In addition to packing the things that we will actually use, sometimes we like to bring extra for what we might use. Or we think of everything we could possibly use and bring all these. And then after checking in, we realize we have to leave some luggage behind or else pay a large sum.
Our Lord tells us today to rely on God’s great providence. He does not tell us not to prepare, but he tells us that God will provide all we need if we are willing to do His work. The gospel reminds us that if we provide too much for ourselves, we may end up forgetting who provides all we need. God’s task for us is to bring His message of love and peace to the places we go to and the people we meet, even if they do not “deserve it.” Our focus is our mission. The other things – financial concerns, fear of rejection, fear of what might happen – are excess baggage that obscures our goal.
What is our excess baggage that gets in the way of our trust in the Lord? Do we have room to carry God’s love with us wherever we go? Do we have faith even in uncertainty?

One Bread, One Body

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All Issues > Volume 30, Issue 4

<< Thursday, July 10, 2014 >>

Hosea 11:1-4, 8-9
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Psalm 80:2-3, 15-16

Matthew 10:7-15
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BABY STEPS

"It was I Who taught Ephraim to walk, Who took them in My arms." —Hosea 11:3

When we were baptized, we received a new nature. We became new creations (Gal 6:15) and infants in Christ (1 Cor 3:1). Like all infants, we need to learn how to live. God our Father wants to teach us how to walk (Hos 11:3), eat, feel, think, hear, see, talk, pray, work, etc. If we realize our total dependence on Him, we will not stunt our growth by trying to teach ourselves how to live. Then we will learn how to do everything our Father wants us to do. We will learn to "cure the sick, raise the dead, heal the leprous, expel demons" (Mt 10:8). Our Father will make us "fully mature and lacking in nothing" (Jas 1:4). He will make us holy as He is holy (1 Pt 1:16) and perfect as He is perfect (Mt 5:48).

The Church calls us to focus on the Holy Spirit. Let the Holy Spirit cry out in our hearts "Abba," that is, "Father" (Gal 4:6; Rm 8:15). Trusting in Him and completely dependent on Him, we will learn to live to the point that we will do even greater things than Jesus has done (Jn 14:12).

Prayer: Abba, if necessary, may I unlearn what I know so You can teach me how to live.

Promise: "The kingdom of God is at hand!" —Mt 10:7, our transl.

Praise: Marvin built a church building for his town and a motel that he managed for many years. In his seventies, Marvin acted on a life-long call to the priesthood. He was ordained at age eighty. He converted his motel into a successful retreat center, and was appointed pastor of the church that he built, doubling his congregation by the time he died at age ninety-five.