We are in high vacation season.  A lot of us either have been traveling this summer or else we are preparing to travel in the next few weeks.  Whether it is a day at Indiana Beach or a couple of weeks in South America, this is high travel season.  And you can see it at the airports, and on the highways, and even at museums and other popular tourist attractions.  And packing up and heading out is fun.  It’s good.  It would just be a whole lot more fun if it weren’t for that whole packing thing.  What is it that makes it so hard to decide what to take with you when you’re traveling, and what to leave behind?  You don’t want to take things that you aren’t going to use.  But, then again, you also don’t want to get far away from home and not have something that you need.  There’s the dilemma, isn’t it?  Some people pack light.  My roommate moved to college our freshman year with only a small duffle bag.  Other people pack heavy.  I, on the other hand, had to borrow my Dad’s pickup truck to move to college.  And some people are just better “packer-up-ers” than others.  My Dad was the best.  Man, my Dad could pack enough clothes, food and drinks, and fishing and sports equipment for six people for a week, into the trunk of an Oldsmobile Delta 88.  Of course, it helped that back in those days, you fit six large people into the trunk of an Oldsmobile Delta 88.  We need to know how to pack.  We need to know for our vacations.  And we also need to know what we need in life.

Today, we come to Mass and the Apostles are getting packing lessons from Jesus.  You see, Jesus is just about ready to send His newly chosen Apostles out on the road for their first experience of ministry.  And Jesus isn’t giving them an RV.   In fact, Jesus is giving them very strict, very detailed instructions, on what to bring along, and what NOT to bring along.   A walking stick is fine.  A second tunic is not allowed.  They are not to bring along any food, any sacks, any money, and I’m pretty sure He meant no credit cards also.  They were allowed to have a good pair of sandals.  He was planning on them doing a lot of walking, because they weren’t getting an RV or even a minivan.  Wouldn’t this make a cool Birkenstock commercial? - “Jesus chose Birkenstock sandals for His first followers.  Shouldn’t you?”  O.K. – What does all this mean?

Well, first of all, this Gospel is reminding us that the Apostles, two thousand years ago, were sent out, by Jesus Himself, to proclaim and build the Kingdom of God.   God gave these Twelve ordinary men, the opportunity to do something completely extraordinary.  These guys weren’t the strongest.  They weren’t the smartest.  They weren’t the richest.  These are twelve very ordinary men.  They needed a God who was going to work through them, because these guys certainly couldn’t do for themselves.  God was still building His Kingdom.  He was just using the hands, and the feet, and the voices, and the talents, and the abilities, and the gifts of these ordinary men.  That’s an important point.  Did God need these yeah-who’s?

No, not really.  God is giving mankind a new dignity by letting ordinary human beings be involved in building His new Kingdom.  These guys go to work for God, and God is still doing all of this to save them.  It’s an amazing plan, isn’t it?  That’s why we came to Mass this morning to appreciate God’s amazing plan and to be a part of it!

Secondly, the whole “leave all of your stuff at home and take nothing on the journey with you” thing is also so God can make sure that the Apostles, and two thousand years later, all of us, know that God is going to give us all that we need to do His work.  This is much less about things and our stuff, than what it is about trusting God to take care of us.  We worry if we have enough socks, or enough suntan oil, or enough money, and God says “Trust in Me and I will take care of you.  Stop worrying about that stuff!”.  When you’re living and working for God, life is pretty good.   Divine Providence is a great thing.  God provides what you need.   And all you have to do is say ‘thank you’.   This is radical Christian living.  It’s about having the Faith and the Trust to let God completely run your life, and trusting that if you do your part, He will provide.

The Apostles learned that it worked.  They were most successful when they did things Jesus’ way.  Today we need to hear this travel advice.  In 2006, we too are being sent to build the Kingdom of God in our neighborhoods, in our workplaces, in our schools, and even at the License Branch.  We need to know that we have been chosen and sent.  And we need to put our trust not in our things and our stuff, but in God!  It still works today.  We are no less and no more important than the Twelve Apostles.  We are all Servants of God.  Let’s let Him work through us today.

         May God bless us and help us build His Kingdom,  Father, Son, and Holy Spirit…    AMEN !!!

                                                                    St. Maria Goretti…   Pray for us  !!!