Commentary on the Gospel of
In Old Testament times the great fear was of being scattered as a people; the word “scatter” is used frequently. In the present Gospel text you see a kind of intermediate state: “Scattered, each one went to his home.” But scattering and spreading was soon to be the order of the day. The disciples would be sent out “to the whole world.” Images that Jesus used of the Kingdom were salt, yeast, seeds – all of which are for scattering and getting lost in a greater reality. The Kingdom of God comes to fruition in us when, like Jesus, we become willing to lay down our lives, to give ourselves away.