As many of you know, Eric and I were out of town last week at a family wedding. The night before we left we were packing. We were trying to figure out what days we needed to be particularly dressed up and then how dressed up we needed to be. Did I need to wear a skirt to the rehearsal dinner or would dress pants be acceptable? Did Eric need to wear a tie? For the wedding day, what color would not clash with the rest of the wedding party? We were asking ourselves and other family members these questions as we made our preparations to leave. We wanted to make sure that we were prepared for everything that might come up in conjunction with the wedding. When we packed up the back of the car, we were a little surprised at how much stuff we had packed for our week away.

When Jesus sent out his disciples to go preach and teach in the surrounding countryside, he gave them very explicit packing instructions. "Pack lightly," Jesus instructed his disciples. "Only take with you three things: a staff, the sandals you’re wearing, and the shirt on your back. No luggage with a change of clothes, no bag for begging for money from those you encounter, no snack to eat along the way, no extra money – just in case. Only the sandals on your feet, the shirt on your back, and a staff." Now that’s packing light.

Packing light is something many of us struggle with. I know that in many ways I take to heart the Boy Scout’s motto of "Be Prepared." For me this means that I must be prepared for anything that might come up on a trip. When I was packing for a big trip, I was once told to lay out on the bed everything I thought I would need for the trip. Then, put half of it back in the drawer. We don’t want to get caught unprepared.

When Jesus sends out his disciples he seems to send them out unprepared. They don’t pack any money to secure a place to stay. They don’t pack any bread for a meal along the way. "Just go," Jesus seems to say. "Just as you are, go. Take the clothes you’re wearing and the shoes on your feet and go. Take a stick to help you with the walk and go. Take a partner with you and go." The "go" seems to be the important part, not the contents of the packing.

Eugene Peterson put it this way in his Message translation, "Don’t think you need a lot of extra equipment for this. You are the equipment…Keep it simple."

"You are the equipment." Wow! How many times do we make excuses for what we can and can’t do because we don’t have the proper equipment? If we are to believe Jesus, then we don’t need any particular things in order to go out and proclaim the Kingdom of God. If we are to believe Jesus, then simply us, going out, is enough.

One of the commentators I read this week pointed out something in the passage I hadn’t noticed before. That is, Jesus didn’t give his disciples any instructions about what they were to do or say. There were no seminars on what language to use in their preaching or what style of lesson plan to use in their teaching. There were only instructions concerning the manner in which the disciples were to do the preaching and teaching. There were no instructions on the "what" only instructions on the "how."

I can remember watching one particular episode of "The Cosby Show" when I was growing up. This was the episode in which Sandra introduced Elvin as her fiancé. Sandra honestly did not do a very good job of introducing Elvin to her family. In the midst of the ensuing chaos, Cliff explained it like this: he asked Elvin what his favorite meal was. Turned out it was steak. Well, Cliff said that how Sandra had introduced him was like taking a beautiful porterhouse steak, grilling it to perfection, and serving it on a garbage can lid. No one wants to eat a steak, no matter how beautiful or mouthwatering, if it is served off a garbage can lid. Likewise, no one wants to believe in the Kingdom of God if we serve it up in ways that make it unpalatable. The "how" matters.

If, as Eugene Peterson out it, we are the equipment, then we need to make sure that we are not presenting ourselves as the garbage can lid. If we are God’s equipment for proclaiming God’s kingdom, then we need to act like we have something great to serve up or perhaps I should say that we have something great to be in service to. If we are the equipment, then we don’t need a whole lot of other stuff hanging around our necks and getting in the way of the gospel. At the risk of sounding flip, instead of "I am the vine and you are the branches" maybe, "I am the entrée and you are the dishes."

Everything we do: what we do and how we do it, are all reflections upon the one we serve. I have read books and attended seminars that talk about growing your church or making your church a more vibrant community of faith. None of these talk about the message we preach or the lessons we teach. They all talk about how we proclaim the message we have been given. The "how" matters.

When the disciples went out to proclaim the Kingdom of God, they kept things simple. They ventured out with just the clothes on their back, a staff in their hand, and the Word on their lips. They proclaimed to the people a way of living that was different from what they had known. They proclaimed repentance and offered healing.

They didn’t have any special prizes for those who answered the call. They didn’t offer bicycles to those who had perfect attendance. They offered what they had: the message of God’s love – the message that they don’t have to continue living as they have been. They don’t have to be slaves to the stuff they acquire and the time clock they obey to gain the stuff they acquire. There is another way. And with the staff in their hand and the clothes on their back, the disciples proclaimed the Kingdom of God. As Peterson put it, "right and left they sent the demons packing; they brought wellness to the sick, anointing their bodies, healing their spirits."

The disciples knew they had a healing message for what ailed the people around them. But Jesus knew that the people would only hear the message if the messengers were sincere in their trust of God. If the messengers went out looking for money to support them, then the message wouldn’t be accepted. But if the messengers went out dependant only upon what God provided for them, then the message they proclaimed wouldn’t get hindered by how it was being proclaimed.

Likewise, if we are proclaiming God’s kingdom to put money in our church bank account or warm bodies in our pews then the message will get cluttered. Sure as a financial institution with bills to pay, we are dependent upon the funds in our bank accounts. But our mission as a church is not to be a successful financial institution. Our mission as a church is to proclaim God’s love to those who need to hear this word of grace. Our mission is to go out. If the response to God’s Word is bodies in the pews and money in the offering then that’s what it is – a response – not the message.

As Christ’s disciples, we are sent out into our surrounding countryside. Take just the clothes on your back and a staff in your hand. Take a friend and go. You know the message to proclaim: Life doesn’t have to be the way it is. Your life can change. No longer be slaves to almighty dollar but be servants instead of Almighty God. Pack lightly for no special tools are needed for the task – You are the equipment. You are serving God to others. Serve it up on the finest china that you are.