Matthew 10:1-7

Lectio (Reading)

Read the passage twice and get a sense of what it is saying. Pay attention to what strikes you.

Jesus summoned his Twelve disciples
and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out
and to cure every disease and every illness.
The names of the Twelve Apostles are these:
first, Simon called Peter, and his brother Andrew;
James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John;
Philip and Bartholomew,
Thomas and Matthew the tax collector;
James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus;
Simon the Cananean, and Judas Iscariot
who betrayed Jesus.

Jesus sent out these Twelve after instructing them thus,
“Do not go into pagan territory or enter a Samaritan town.
Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’”

Meditatio (Reflecting)

Slowly read the passage again, pausing on words or phrases that stands out. Take time to consider the meaning. particularly in your life.

Do not go into pagan territory or enter a Samaritan town. Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’

Oratio (Responding)

Read the passage again, slowly. Consider how God has spoken to you and respond back to Him. You may want to consider how this passage is asking you to act differently.

So what does it mean for Jesus to say that the kingdom is at hand? All of known time is measured two great ages (epochs). The time before Jesus and the time after His death. When jesus was born He ended the last age, and began the new one. But all things proceed in God’s time, and even though it has been 2000 years since Jesus ascended into heaven, the kingdom is still at hand, but I do believe that it might be near the end. We are indeed living on the cusp of something truly incredible, and whenever this age ends, we will enter into eternity and the kingdom of heaven forever.

Saying that the end is soon can be really confusing though…, does that mean that the end is now (or in the near future), or does that mean that we still have to wait for the end of time and the final judgement. Some mystics have claimed that before the end, there will be a time of great peace, and that it will be called the reign of the immaculate heart, and the kingdom of the divine will. They say that It will be a time of great peace, and it will resemble the garden of eden in many ways. And Jesus even confirms this probability in the lords prayer… He says: “thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” When this time comes, the evil one will be restrained, there will be no sin, and we will all more fully delight in the goodness truth and beauty of the Lord. No one knows if this will be one year or a thousand, but I do believe that much is yet to come until the final end.

But regardless of what the future holds, I do also believe that this message holds a lesson for us in the here and now as well. I believe that we are called to help build the kingdom now as best we can. That we need to proclaim the gospel to all of the lost sheep, to the lost souls of the world, and to let them know that a time is coming soon where they will have to choose between themselves and the Lord, and get their affairs in order before that time comes. I believe that this is our call, and that time is now, because “The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Contemplatio (Contemplating)

Take time to simply remain in the presence of God.

Resolutio (Resolving)

Make a resolution that will improve your life, your relationships, or your faith. Make it small and attainable, and do it.

Help me discern further what it means to prepare for the kingdom of heaven, and to share that knowledge with all of the world around me.