Acquire no gold or silver or copper for your belts. The economic provisions for the mission: no financial preparation. The disciples are to travel with radical dependency on the provision of those they serve. The prohibition on gold, silver, and copper is the prohibition on the financial security that would make the mission independent of the hospitality of those who receive it. The economic dependency of the missionary creates the social bond between the missionary and the community that receives them — the disciple who must depend on the household's hospitality is also the disciple whose message must engage the household's life.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

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