lver, nor brass in your purses: no wallet for your journey,
neither two coats, nor shoes, nor staff: for the laborer is worthy
of his food. And into whatsoever city or village ye shall enter,
search out who in it is worthy; and there abide till ye go
forth.... And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your
words, as ye go forth out of that house or that city, shake off
the dust of your feet. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more
tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of
judgment, than for that city.... And be not afraid of them that
kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul.--Matt. 10:7-11,
14-15, 28a.

This whole chapter expresses with immense vitality the heroic spirit
called forth by the Kingdom propaganda. Jesus sent these twelve men
through the villages of Galilee to duplicate and multiply what he was
doing. The natural leaders of society, the able, the educated, the
powerful, were concerned in setting up their own kingdom and enslaving
their fellows to serve them. So Jesus took what material he had, peasants
and fishermen, and created a new leadership. He flung them against
existing society, knowing well that they would have to face opposition. In
fact, they were destined, one by one, to go to death for their cause. He
tells them not to mind a little thing like death, but to do their work and
rally the people around the idea of the Reign of God.

Can the men and women who are today trying to rebuild human society on a
basis of social justice and fraternity claim any right of succession in
the sending of the Twelve?

Seventh Day: Doing All, and Then Some

But who is there of you, having a servant plowing or keeping
sheep, that will say unto him, when he is come in from the field,
Come straightway and sit down to meat; and will not rather say
unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and
serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt
eat and drink? Doth he thank the servant because he did the things
that were commanded? Even so ye also, when ye shall have done all
the things that are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable
servants; we have done that which it was our duty to do.--Luke
17:7-10.

Jesus often boldly took his illustrations from the facts of life even when
they were repellent to him. Here he holds up the joyless life of a Syrian
agricultural la