journey, except a staff: no food, no bag, no money in their belts. They were to wear sandals
and were not to take an extra tunic.And he added, “In whatever house you are welcomed,
stay there until you leave the place. If any place doesn’t receive you, and the people refuse to
listen to you, leave after shaking the dust off your feet. It will be a testimony against them.”
So, they set out to proclaim that this was the time to repent. They drove out many demons
Reflection
“Jesus shares his authority.” We begin our faith journey in this month of February by reflecting
on the way Jesus shares his authority with us as his followers. Today’s Gospel narrates Jesus
choosing twelve from among his disciples. Jesus gave them authority over evil spirits as he sent
them in pairs. He also cautioned them of the fact that, in their mission of proclaiming God’s reign,
they would also experience rejection and persecution. This implies that the authority which
Jesus shares with his followers does not right away eradicate with totality the evil in the world.
However, upon sharing his authority with his disciples, Jesus himself did not leave evil
unbounded. Hence, Jesus’ followers are sent to participate in the ongoing eradication of the
evil in the world. If we are rejected because we are Jesus’ disciples, we are not to retaliate.
We are rather challenged to let our non-violent stance be the witness against the violence
we are called to denounce. Jesus shares his authority with us that we may be able to denounce
violence without becoming violent ourselves.
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