My wife, Liz, loves packing lists. I’m not saying that she loves packing. Rather, what she likes is to put together the list of what needs to be packed. She likes to think ahead and consider what might be necessary for any trip that I am taking or that we are taking as a family. In Luke 9, Jesus gives His disciples a packing list – but there’s something funny about it. It is a negative packing list, a packing list that tells them what NOT to take, and it starts off with an overarching item: “Take NOTHING.”
Sometimes our journeys are made better by what we leave behind rather than by what we take. I can think of trips that I have taken where I have forgotten to pack something (which was probably on the list that Liz gave me), and I had to do without it or find a way to make up for it. Those trips are more interesting for the perspectives that they give us.
One day, I ended up walking out of the house without my phone. I know, it seems almost unthinkable for a moment, but I actually forgot about it. But instead of turning the car around, I decided that I would go with it for the day – that I would try to live without my phone. It was tough, but I remember that day better than many of the other days that I have had recently. It was a day that forced me to rely on things other than that phone – to rely on creativity and on other people.
Maybe what Jesus was teaching His disciples in that moment was that they had Him to rely upon. They had the command and promise of the Lord. That’s all they needed, anything else was under “take NOTHING” on the packing list.
Perhaps this message is a challenge to you – something that is calling you to put away some of the things that you have been relying upon, the things that aren’t Jesus. Those things might be good, but it might be worthwhile putting them away. Of course, this message can also be a comfort to you – it may be that you feel like you don’t have the “thing that you need” whatever that thing is in your mental packing list. Remember, that thing isn’t Jesus. You’ve got Jesus. You have all you need. You don’t need anything more.
As you prepare for the celebration of Holy Week next week, know that God had told you to “take NOTHING,” and know that He will provide everything you need in Jesus. Amen.