There is the faith that lives in the clouds, in the cerebral, but today’s readings demand of us a faith that affects the belly. “Take nothing for the journey,” instructs Jesus, but I wish you could see the snacks I pack for a road trip! To travel without supplies is a radical act of faith, in God and in other people. It’s a level of trust we rarely experience in our daily lives. Maybe Jesus knows that we are more likely to be generous if we’ve had to rely on the generosity of others.
Jesus sends the twelve apostles—and us—to proclaim the Good News. But we are also the people who welcome the travelers and offer our riches, however small, for their sustenance and shelter. We are called to open our homes and our hearts to the stranger who knocks. We can do this work of God in many ways. My husband and I donate to the admirable efforts of World Central Kitchen. WCK volunteers feed people who are hungry due to natural or man-made disasters. They just show up and start cooking and distributing meals, regardless of politics or peril. They alleviate suffering by providing displaced folks with the food they need.
“Give me neither poverty nor riches,” prays the writer of Proverbs, a prayer admirable for its balance. “Provide me only with the food I need.” May we always give all we can and take only what we need wherever Jesus sends us.

Valerie Schultz

Valerie Schultz is a freelance writer and essayist. She is author of Overdue: A Dewey Decimal System of Grace and A Hill of Beans: The Grace of Everyday Troubles.