Lighten the Load
Dear Sutton and Savannah,
Filling up a backpack is an exercise in deciding what is needed. And you never know what you will need. So, at some point you make your best guess, zip up the backpack, and start walking. Inevitably you will need something you don’t have, and amazingly, you will figure out what to do. So, maybe it is wise to carry less in life, enjoy the walk more, and trust your inner resources to figure out what to do if something comes up.
-Dad
Inside Out Lectionary Letters
Year A Proper 6 - (Texts, Art, Hymns)
Readings for Sunday, June 14, 2026
Genesis 18:1-15, (21:1-7) / Psalm 100 / Romans 5:1-8 / Matthew 9:35-10:8, (9-23)
Summary of Matthew 9:35-10:8
The gospel reading for June 14 has so much going on: Jesus’s mission (teaching, preaching and healing). The naming and commissioning of the 12. Instructions. Admonition regarding wolves in sheep’s clothing. Being wise as serpents and innocent as doves. A person’s peace and the host of a house or home. And not taking outward resources. It seems difficult to find a focal point. And furthermore, how does any of this translate to the inner journey?
Scripture as a Mirror of the Soul
This passage is best understood as descriptive of a particular group of twelve followers at a particular moment in history. He is preparing them for a journey that will require courage, discernment, trust, and resilience. It is not prescriptive for every person in every generation. So, while the details of their mission may not apply directly to everyone, the inner dynamics of the journey remain remarkably relevant.
One of the most striking features of the passage is Jesus' invitation to travel lightly. The disciples are instructed not to depend on money, extra clothing, or other outward resources. In other words, learn to trust yourself, your inner resources and others. Pay attention to your intuition, not just your knowledge. This becomes an invitation to examine the sources of security upon which we rely.
Many of us spend years accumulating possessions, credentials, accomplishments, and certainty in the hope that they will make us feel safe. Yet the deepest challenges of life often cannot be solved by what we possess. These challenges invite us to discover the inner resources of wisdom, insight, courage, intuition, compassion, and trust.
The passage also calls for discernment. There are moments when we sense something before we fully understand it. Sometimes the inner voice recognizes openness, danger, authenticity, or deception long before the rational mind can explain why. Be wise as a serpent and as naive as a dove. Both deserve a place in the inner world so that you can function with gentle judgement and tenacious grace when either are needed, or when both are needed. And such a posture is born out of inner work and outer experience. This is how we learn to trust the inner resources that emerge from an integrated life.