Look Ma, No Hands

 

As you go, proclaim the good news, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment. Take no gold, or silver, or copper in your belts, no bag for your journey, or two tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for laborers deserve their food. Whatever town or village you enter, find out who in it is worthy, and stay there until you leave. As you enter the house, greet it. If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet as you leave that house or town. Truly I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.

Today’s passage is a continuation of yesterday’s, with Jesus giving more instructions to his apostles as he sends them out on mission. It is interesting to note that while Jesus, on one hand, empowers his disciples to heal the sick and drive out demons, on the other hand he calls them to total detachment, depending solely on the provision of God for their needs. It is an amazing way of living, which I call “walking in the supernatural”. What does it mean to walk in the supernatural?

Have you ever been to a circus? People of my generation would surely have been to one, but I am not sure if many kids have. We don’t have too many circuses coming to town these days, and those that do, don’t have a lot of the acts we used to see. Most of the animal acts, for instance, have been dropped, and while this is understandable — the animals were treated very badly — it has changed the flavor completely. However, one act remains and that is the flying trapeze. Performers jump from a very high platform using a trapeze — a bar hung by ropes — and then let go of the bar to be caught by another performer.

The flyer can do nothing. He can only trust that the other guy — the catcher — will catch him. If the flyer tries to catch the catcher, it could result in serious injury. But if the flyer simply extends his arms and waits to be caught, then his partner will catch him and bring him to safety, ready for the next jump. Walking in the supernatural is like that. It is a letting go of what we are holding on to, and flying in the UNCERTAINTY of the air, but with the CERTAINTY that there are a pair of strong and loving hands waiting to catch you. The catcher here is God.

This is what Jesus was asking the apostles to do. To let go of everything that they believed kept them secure and depend on him. This is what WE are being asked to do too. Too many of us who say we believe in Christ put our faith in the things of this world: our jobs, our wealth, our possessions. Following Christ is putting our faith in HIM and we can truly demonstrate this only when we let go of the rest. Isn’t it scary? Perhaps in the beginning, when you are starting to let go, but eventually you develop confidence, not in yourself as much as the one you are putting your confidence in, and then it stops being scary.

Think of the trapeze artist. He doesn’t just go up on a platform one day and jump. He has to practice. At the start, just climbing up to the platform on a narrow 24 foot rope ladder is scary. But after months of practice, attached to safety harnesses that allow him to swing and jump without fear of falling, he takes off the harness one day, confident enough to fly and know his partner has his back. It’s the same with God. It IS going to be scary in the beginning, but when you keep letting go, you eventually come to realize God is not going to let you fall, and then the fear goes away and you are left only with this amazing sense of exhilaration. There is nothing in the world like it. 

And, then, like the kid who lets go of the handlebars of his bike, you can say: Look ma, no hands!

Watch a video of this reflection by Aneel Aranha here: https://youtu.be/YVpF2PSXN90