Fr. Frank Majka, SJ – The Bridge

Traveling Together

The gospels tell us that when Jesus sent out the disciples, he told them to travel light and go in pairs. The first instruction makes sense. Don’t have a lot of things that keep you from being mobile and adaptable. Don’t take a lot of stuff with you because it will just slow you down.

But what about traveling in pairs? Can’t that sometimes slow one down, too? If your traveling companion is unpleasant, isn’t that a kind of baggage that you have to lug around? Why not get rid of that baggage, too?

Perhaps Jesus was teaching the disciples that the journey he was sending them on was one where the two people would have to learn to get along whether they naturally liked each other or not. They were supposed to be announcing the Reign of God, and one of the big things in the Reign is being open to everyone. He might have been showing them that, without living the message, there’s no point in talking about it to other people.