Travelling Light

After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road.

“When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will rest on them; if not, it will return to you. Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house.

“When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is offered to you. Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your town we wipe from our feet as a warning to you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God has come near.’

“Whoever listens to you listens to me; whoever rejects you rejects me; but whoever rejects me rejects him who sent me.”

The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.”

He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

Luke 10:1–11, 16–20

Introduction

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

There are two kinds of people: those who have to sit on their suitcase to zip it shut, and those who somehow manage to pack a week’s worth of clothes into a carry-on. Whichever one you are, Jesus’ instructions in today’s Gospel are confronting—He tells His disciples to take nothing at all.

Today, we’re hearing His call to travel light: to let go of the things that weigh us down and to rediscover what it means to live and serve with the freedom that comes from the Spirit of God.

Lord Jesus,
You call and send us, not in our own strength, but with Your peace and promise.
As we hear Your Word today, lighten our load, renew our trust,
and open our hearts to where Your Spirit is leading.
In Your name we pray. Amen.

1. Go Now, Go Together

The Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two… The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.

Luke 10:1–2

Jesus sends out seventy-two others—beyond the twelve. This is one of the clearest pictures in the Gospels of how wide the calling of discipleship really is. The mission of God is not reserved for a select few. It is shared among many.

These seventy-two are sent to every town and place Jesus himself intended to go. They are not acting on their own initiative—they go ahead of Christ, preparing the way for Him. That’s our calling too: not to act in our own strength, but to go as forerunners of what Christ is doing, to make space for His arrival.

Jesus says, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.” This is Pastor Stephen Schultz’s favourite line to use in pre-call meetings with congregations. It’s not a statement of scarcity but of urgency. The problem isn’t that nothing’s happening—it’s that God’s mission is already underway, and there’s a need for more people to participate.

And notice this: they go out in pairs. Jesus doesn’t send them alone. The mission is never meant to be a solo act. We carry each other, we encourage each other, we hold one another accountable. As Paul says in Galatians 6, “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way, you will fulfil the law of Christ.”

Being sent doesn’t mean leaving the church behind—it means extending the life of the church into every part of the world God has placed us in. The sending is part of the church’s very identity.

Our task is not to ask, “How do we get people to come in?” but rather, “How do we go out—together—in the name of Jesus?”

2. Leave the Luggage Behind

“Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Do not take a purse or bag or sandals…”

Luke 10:3–4

When Jesus sends out the seventy-two, He gives what seem to be impractical instructions: don’t take a purse, a bag, or even sandals. It’s an image that’s hard to translate directly into modern life, but the principle is clear—travel light. Leave behind the things that give a false sense of security. Go without relying on backup plans and resources. Instead, trust in God’s provision and the hospitality of others.

That’s a difficult call, especially in the church, where we often measure health by how much we’ve built—how many programs we run, how strong the budget is, how well the building is maintained. But Jesus points us in another direction. He wants us to focus less on what we carry, and more on who sends us and why we’re going.

So, what does this mean in practice? What are we being asked to leave behind?

1. Travelling light means letting go of control.

We often want to hold on tightly to how we’ve always done things. We rely on fixed routines and long-established roles. But if we’re honest, that sometimes becomes more about our comfort than about faithfulness to God’s mission. “Travel light” means being open to change—not change for its own sake, but for the sake of joining what the Spirit is doing around us.

Alan Roxburgh is an American author who’s written a lot about mission in the church, especially around this theme of travelling light. He says, “The Spirit is out ahead of us in the neighbourhood.” That means we don’t control the mission; we respond to it.

2. Travelling light means loosening our grip on outcomes.

Jesus doesn’t tell the disciples to measure results—He tells them to proclaim peace, stay with those who welcome them, and wipe the dust off when they’re rejected. We are not called to success, but to faithfulness. That frees us from anxiety about declining numbers or empty pews. Maybe more applicably for us, it also frees us from pride in a full church every week. We’re here to be witnesses, not to run a successful operation. If we get the witnessing bit right, I have no doubt that God will make sure the operation works.

3. Travelling light means focusing on relationships over resources.

The disciples were to rely on the hospitality of others. That would have been uncomfortable—but it also forced them into genuine relationships. In the same way, our calling as a church isn’t primarily to offer a polished product or host events—it’s to love our neighbours, listen to them, and speak peace into their lives.

Now to be clear: this is not a call to abandon the local church or its structures. Our congregation, our building, and our ministries are gifts from God. But they are tools—not the goal. We must regularly ask: are these things serving the mission, or are they becoming extra luggage? Do these things distract us from the mission, or do they help us to live out the mission?

The good news is that when we do lay those things down—or at least hold them more loosely—we are more available, more adaptable, more open to where God might lead us next. And as Jesus reminds the seventy-two, we go with His authority and His peace.

In that sense, I think we’re in a pretty good spot as a congregation at the moment. We haven’t got stacks of programs running. We’re only holding one weekly worship service. We have time and space to focus on the things that matter, and we have the capacity to start something new if the Spirit leads us that way. Still, the question remains: what else is weighing us down?

3. Trust the Spirit’s Provision

When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’…

Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’

Luke 10:5–9, 17–20

Having sent the seventy-two with nothing but a message, Jesus then reminds them that their work will not be in vain. They are to speak peace, receive what is offered, stay where they are welcomed, and declare that God’s reign has come near.

In other words, they are not just sent without, but also sent with: they go with peace, with authority, and with the power of the Spirit. And as they return, they discover something even better than results: they experience joy in belonging to Christ. “Do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you,” Jesus says, “but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

That’s the foundation for all Christian mission: not confidence in what we achieve, but in who we are in Christ.

In Isaiah 66, God speaks of comforting His people like a mother comforts her child. This image is tender but strong: it reassures us that we are sustained not by our own efforts, but by the steadfast care of God. “As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you,” says the Lord. That’s the basis for our courage as we go.

Psalm 66 picks up this theme, inviting us to praise the God who “preserves our lives and keeps our feet from slipping.” Even through times of trial, God brings us to a place of abundance.

We may feel that the challenges facing the church today are too great—secularism, ageing congregations, limited resources. But the seventy-two likely felt that too. Jesus doesn’t send them with resources. He sends them with His word, His peace, and His presence. And He sends us the same way.

So, we go with confidence—not because the task is easy, but because the One who sends us also goes ahead of us, providing everything we need.

Conclusion

Jesus sends us out—not with heavy baggage, but with a clear purpose and His own authority. We are called to travel light, not because the work is insignificant, but because the power and provision come from Him, not us.

We are the church not because of our buildings, budgets, or programs, but because the Spirit of Christ is at work in us and through us. That means we can hold our structures lightly, trust the Spirit deeply, and focus boldly on the mission: to proclaim peace, embody grace, and make space for God’s kingdom to be seen.

The burdens that weigh us down—control, fear, outcomes—do not define us. Christ does. And He promises that when we go in His name, our names are already written in heaven.

So, let’s not ask, “What can we hold on to?” but “What can we lay down for the sake of the gospel?” Let’s go together—lightly, faithfully, joyfully—into the places Christ Himself is already going.

As we go, may the peace that surpasses all understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.