Unready Adventurers
(Is.66:10-14; Gal.6:14-18; Lk.10:1-12; 17-20)
Have you ever begun a journey before you felt you were ready?
In JRR Tolkein’s book The Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins is at home reading, drinking tea and enjoying his safe and tidy life. Then Gandalf the wizard knocks on his door. He’s come to invite him on an adventure.
‘We don’t want any adventures here, thank you!’ Bilbo replies. But by the next morning something stirs inside him – something stronger than fear, something deeper than comfort. And then, without any preparation, without any supplies, without any real idea of what he’s doing, he runs to catch up with the others.
Bilbo is clearly unprepared for what lies ahead. He has no weapon, no map, no survival skills. But what he does have – and this gradually reveals itself – is courage, faith, and a sense of purpose beyond himself.
That unready hobbit goes on to face goblins, trolls, spiders and the great dragon Smaug – not because he knows how, but because he learns to trust, to endure and to grow. Bilbo discovers that his strength lies not in what he carries, but in what he learns to let go: his pride, his fear, and the illusion of control.
He learns that smallness and simplicity are not weaknesses. They are strengths in the hands of a greater purpose.
But this isn’t just the story of a hobbit. It’s also the story of a disciple.
In Luke’s Gospel today, Jesus sends out seventy-two disciples into the villages of Galilee. Like Bilbo, they’re not warriors or scholars or elite religious figures. They’re ordinary, humble people and he sends them out in pairs into unknown lands. Travel light, Jesus says. Take no money, no extra gear, no backup plan.
But they do carry one thing – a message: ‘The kingdom of God is near.’
The disciples leave feeling nervous, but after their journey they return amazed, not at their own strength, but that God has worked through them.
There’s a simple connection between Bilbo Baggins and Jesus’ disciples: they all said yes when it would have been much easier to stay home. But here’s the point: God does not send the best-equipped. He sends the willing.
Like Bilbo, Jesus’ disciples must learn as they go. They must learn how to trust, how to face rejection, and how to carry peace and love into uncertain places.
And just like Bilbo, the disciples discover that what at first seems like a small act of courage opens the door to a remarkable transformation – not just for those they meet, but also for themselves.
Through the centuries, many people have set out like this, unready, uncertain and seemingly unqualified to do something special for God. But in the end they found themselves transformed by accepting God’s surprising call.
One such person was St Josephine Bakhita. She was a Sudanese woman who was kidnapped as a child, sold into slavery and passed from master to master. She ended up in a strange foreign land, Italy, where she encountered something that awakened her true identity.
She was rescued in Venice by the Canossian Sisters (a religious order founded in 1808). They gave her a home and treated her with great kindness. It was here that she discovered the love of God. She was baptised, took religious vows and lived the rest of her life as a sister, doing humble tasks like cooking and welcoming guests.
She also did what she could for the poor and broken, especially young girls who had been trafficked or abused.
To those she met, Josephine Bakhita radiated holiness, like a lamp burning quietly in a darkened room.
Much like Bilbo Baggins, Josephine began her journey as someone who was timid and quickly disregarded, for she was just a slave. But through her trials she developed a courage and an interior strength built on gentleness, patience and profound forgiveness.
She once said: ‘If I were to meet those who kidnapped me… I would kneel and kiss their hands, for if these things had not happened, I would not have found Christ.’
In the end, Bilbo returns home with much more than gold – he comes back knowing himself. And St Josephine discovers treasure, too. Not worldly riches, but the joy of knowing that she belongs to the heart of God.
So, what about you? Do you hesitate because you feel unprepared? The point of today’s stories is you don’t have to be ready, especially if God is calling.
You just have to say yes.
God doesn’t send us because we’re ready. He sends us because he believes in us. He has all we need.
So, if you’re feeling small and unsure, just remember that’s an excellent place to start.
Just like Bilbo, St Josephine Bakhita and Jesus’ disciples.