Travel Advice from Jesus
- Father Gary Zerr
- Jul 4
- 2 min read
Pastor’s Column
14th Sunday Ordinary Time
July 6, 2025
What with this being the travel season, many of us will be going places. Imagine for a moment that “trip of a lifetime” that you have been planning and longing for and then arriving only to find that your luggage is not there! Jesus’ advice to the disciples this Sunday (Luke 10:1-20) to travel light as they go can have a spiritual meaning for us, because no matter how hard we may prepare, we may have on to rely on divine providence in those events that we cannot foresee.
Don’t bring any money.
Forget about a suitcase; you won’t need that either.
Don’t bring an extra pair of shoes.
Don’t change your hotel room when you arrive (no matter how disagreeable).
How many takers would one get on a trip like this? Not many! Let’s update Jesus’ list for a modern traveler. We are all Jesus’ disciples, literally on the trip of a lifetime, our own lifetime. What then do these instructions mean for us?
Having a big sack of money is not the ultimate goal of life or a reason for living. Our wealth is only a means to an end. How I make and use my money and what I give away to others are always our best investments and how we glorify God. Having money can buy the illusion of security when in fact it offers no such thing. In the end, security is an illusion; God holds our destiny.
Travel light. When we disembark from the boat of life we will leave all of our luggage behind. We enter into eternity with only our soul, and who we are and what we have become will be clear to everyone.
Learn to depend more on Divine Providence. We can’t possibly anticipate every need or take enough “shoes” to cover every situation. If we let him, God will provide.
The “Imitation of Christ” says “a change of place has deceived many.” Perhaps, instead of always longing for a better “hotel,” I might ask God to help me to grow in the very place I’m planted right now.
Father Gary
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