DWELL. LUKE 9:1-6
Then Jesus called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal. He said to them, ‘Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money—not even an extra tunic. Whatever house you enter, stay there, and leave from there. Wherever they do not welcome you, as you are leaving that town shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.’ They departed and went through the villages, bringing the good news and curing diseases everywhere.
REFLECT
Jesus was raised by a carpenter. Like all good tradesmen, he was likely apprenticed by Joseph to take up the family business. In this system, an apprentice would train under a master. The apprentice would work alongside the master for years, learning everything about the work. They must learn about the tools and materials of the trade; They must learn how to construct houses and furnishings from scratch. Masters would increasingly give their apprentices challenges as they learn to do what the master does. By imitation and information, the master would reproduce his skill in the apprentice. At a certain point in the learning process,the master would send the apprentice as a journeyman to apply their skills. They would work at a subsistence level, basically receiving room and board for their work. They would bring only the essentials to ply the trade, because they would not remain in one place. They would seek out labor where they could find it. After a season as a journeyman, their workmanship and skill would improve. They would continue to work with the master to grow in knowledge and skill. Eventually, they would settle in a place, marry, and become a master craftsman capable of reproducing the best work of the one who taught them. They would acquire students of their own---likely their own sons. This learning model effectively trained men for the necessary labor and industry of the 1st century culture.
Jesus applies this apprenticeship/journeyman model to his healing and teaching work. He is an itinerant rabbi, a master in practical theology. He is a storyteller and a healer, known to have cured the sick, raised the dead, and given sight to the blind. But his practice was not a solo project for one miraculous holy man. It was a teaching model that was intended to be passed on like the family trade. So Jesus trains disciples as apprentices. They watch him heal and hear his stories. They participate in the way he feeds crowds and offers the power of compassion to those who are suffering. And then he sends them out, as a master sends out journeymen, to apply what they have learned. They are sent like interns, with no self-sustaining resources. They will live on room and board in exchange for their labor. As unskilled apprentices, they will continue to learn on the job. Sometimes their work will be appreciated, other times thy won't be well received. They must move on and continue the master's work.
In my training for ministry, I was sent to Penn State Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, PA for three months of clinical pastoral education. I lived on the hospital grounds in nursing student housing. I was assigned to adult intensive care unit. There were six of us, supervised by a certified chaplain. We made rounds as chaplains, visiting the sick. Some people welcomed me. Others told me to go away. I walked with families through trauma and acute grief. I did not know how to pray with and for others until I spent a summer at Geisinger. The supervisor met with us daily to teach and to listen and to continue our formation as compassionate caregivers. It was challenging. I was poor. And I learned more about God and the human condition in three months than I did in the previous nine months of bible and theology classes. I continue to learn.
Following Jesus is a lifelong learning process for all of us. There are skills and tools and practices that are essential to reproduce the work of Jesus. Those of us who have been practicing for some time as apprentices and journeymen are ready to take on students. We are building a community, a kingdom, a way of life together. It takes willing practitioners and patience. Would you like to become an apprentice in the life of Jesus?
PRAY
Jesus, you invite us to follow you. You teach us the way of compassionate presence and healing. You show us how to confront systems of powerful injustice and oppression, not with weapons of violence, but with words of love and grace. You send us to practice what you have taught. Help us to go and do what we have heard and seen from you, master.
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