These readings from Ezra recount how the Jews returned to Judah and built a new Temple after the Persians freed them from their Babylonian conquerors. The destruction of Solomon’s Temple and the exile of the king and much of the population was undoubtedly the greatest trauma God’s people had suffered up to that point.
And yet, somehow, mysteriously, this experience of defeat and exile yielded a Jewish people of far greater faith and spiritual depth. Their writings and their practices of covenant faithfulness both reveal a richer understanding of God’s nature and their relationship to Him than they ever had attained in the glory days of David and Solomon.
I think this is one way to understand Jesus’ commands to the Apostles as He sent them out on mission. On the one hand, Jesus was equipping them with incredible power: to cast out demons and cure illness. This might have tempted the Apostles to become arrogant and full of themselves, especially since we know, from many Gospel passages, that they could often be pre-occupied with their own status and ambitions. But, of course, arrogance is the most deadly enemy to spiritual growth and proper relationship with the Lord.
Pride literally goes before the fall, and Jesus wants His apostles to help overcome evil, not fall prey to it. How to keep them humble? Make them totally dependent on others. Hence, no provisions, no going from house to house looking for the best patron. Just go to one place per town and rely on that family until it’s time to go to the next. And if no one will accept them in a town? No angry, self-righteous arguments; just move on. Even as they would help so many people be freed of evil or disease, they themselves would need help just to acquire the basic necessities of life. This would keep them humble. This would keep them faithful to the mission. This would help them grow into the very Kingdom of God they were sent to proclaim.
In the challenges or struggles that you’re experiencing, is it possible that God is calling you to find greater humility? What practices can you take on that will help you grow in this virtue? And if your humility grows, what riches in your life of faith, what riches in your relationships with others, might you discover?