Homilies & Thoughts

“Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave.” Jesus was quite strict when he sent his disciples out two by two. They weren’t allowed to take money, food, or extra clothing and they had to wander around all of Israel. If we had been in one of the cities of the time and seen the disciples, it would not have been a pretty sight. They would have been dirty, smelly, and hungry beggars. They would have been shouting at us “Repent! For the Kingdom of God is at hand.” I think many of us would have dismissed them without a moments consideration. Surely God can equip his messengers better than this.

“A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and among his own kin and in his own house.” These words of Jesus are probably proverbial. That is, they belong to the simple folk wisdom that is passed around the culture and handed on through the ages, something like, “The early bird gets the worm.” The simplicity and commonness of these words belie a hidden depth. Jesus’ words cut to the heart and should cause to rethink our lives and especially our interactions with one another.

I watched a show one time about people who are incredibly cheap. They weren’t poor. That is, a lack of money did not drive their desire to live frugally. They just loved being cheap. They experienced a strange thrill in finding bargains or getting new stuff without spending cash. Most of the people on the show and their thrifty habits I found amusing: cutting open toothpaste tubes to reach that little bit you can never squeeze out, taking a roll of two-ply toilet tissue and multiplying it into two rolls of single-ply, and other similar things. But one habit was almost too much to watch. This particular couple enjoyed crafting dinner from road kill. They would drive along back roads, pick up any dead animal they found, and then take it home and cook it.