Should Religions Grow?
July 6, 2025 I n today’s Gospel we have Jesus sending out 70 of his disciples to spread his word, and his instructions are clear: “C arry no purse, no bag, no sandals ….” . But then in a later passage in the very same Gospel, we have Jesus saying something quite different: “When I sent you out without a purse, bag, or sandals, did you lack anything?” They said, “No, not a thing.” He said to them, “But now, the one who has a purse must take it, and likewise a bag. And the one w ho has no sword must sell his cloak and buy one. (Luke 22: 35-38) Considering that this last instruction of Jesus is quite different from his first one , I would like to pose a hypothetical question: What if we did not have this different instruction that is found here, and many years later another very holy ‘teacher’ came to us and said: ‘I know Jesus had told you to go without a purse, bag or sandals when you go to preach the Gospel. But now I tell you, the situation has ...
