Luke 10: 1-12, 17-20
At
that time the Lord appointed seventy-two others
whom he sent ahead of him in pairs
to every town and place he intended to visit.
He said to them,
"The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few;
so ask the master of the harvest
to send out laborers for his harvest.
Go on your way;
behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves.
Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals;
and greet no one along the way.
Into whatever house you enter, first say,
'Peace to this household.'
If a peaceful person lives there,
your peace will rest on him;
but if not, it will return to you.
Stay in the same house and eat and drink what is offered to you,
for the laborer deserves his payment.
Do not move about from one house to another.
Whatever town you enter and they welcome you,
eat what is set before you,
cure the sick in it and say to them,
'The kingdom of God is at hand for you.'
Whatever town you enter and they do not receive you,
go out into the streets and say,
'The dust of your town that clings to our feet,
even that we shake off against you.'
Yet know this: the kingdom of God is at hand.
I tell you,
it will be more tolerable for Sodom on that day than for that town."
The seventy-two returned rejoicing, and said,
"Lord, even the demons are subject to us because of your name."
Jesus said, "I have observed Satan fall like lightning from the sky.
Behold, I have given you the power to 'tread upon serpents' and scorpions
and upon the full force of the enemy and nothing will harm you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you,
but rejoice because your names are written in heaven."
whom he sent ahead of him in pairs
to every town and place he intended to visit.
He said to them,
"The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few;
so ask the master of the harvest
to send out laborers for his harvest.
Go on your way;
behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves.
Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals;
and greet no one along the way.
Into whatever house you enter, first say,
'Peace to this household.'
If a peaceful person lives there,
your peace will rest on him;
but if not, it will return to you.
Stay in the same house and eat and drink what is offered to you,
for the laborer deserves his payment.
Do not move about from one house to another.
Whatever town you enter and they welcome you,
eat what is set before you,
cure the sick in it and say to them,
'The kingdom of God is at hand for you.'
Whatever town you enter and they do not receive you,
go out into the streets and say,
'The dust of your town that clings to our feet,
even that we shake off against you.'
Yet know this: the kingdom of God is at hand.
I tell you,
it will be more tolerable for Sodom on that day than for that town."
The seventy-two returned rejoicing, and said,
"Lord, even the demons are subject to us because of your name."
Jesus said, "I have observed Satan fall like lightning from the sky.
Behold, I have given you the power to 'tread upon serpents' and scorpions
and upon the full force of the enemy and nothing will harm you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you,
but rejoice because your names are written in heaven."
“The harvest is abundant but the laborers are
few…”
Like a farmer fills his bins with grain during the
harvest so too does God wish to fill heaven with the children he created. God
extends the invitation to every person of this world. He needs people to
deliver that invitation. He needs laborers for the harvest.
Jesus sends out 72 of his disciples to deliver this
message. What faith these people must have had to journey forth through
dangerous country without even the simple basic necessities. They had faith
that the Lord would provide. Can you imagine the conversations that took place
between the pairs as they went their ways?
When they came upon the town they were sent to preach they
extended Jesus’ peace to them. If the peace was returned, that is if they were
among a people who were willing to hear the message, they stayed and delivered
the message. If they were among a deaf people they would shake the dust off of their
sandals and move on.
This is a very important message to the Christian today.
It is not our job to convert everyone. We are to spread the good news to a
people of good will who wish to hear it. We are not to stand on street corners
and shout at those who do not wish to listen. The Gospel of God is the Gospel
of love and love cannot be forced upon anyone. Love only exists if there is a
choice.
The kingdom of God is at hand. This is widely
misunderstood as the nearing of the return of paradise. In the original Greek
the word used for kingdom is basileia
and is more aptly translated as the royal nature of a king. A king is a basileus. When Jesus told his disciples
to deliver the message that the kingdom of God is at hand what he was really
saying was that God’s royal nature was soon to be among them. God’s royal
nature was none other than Jesus himself. He sent his disciples forth to
prepare his way.
The disciples returned to the Lord rejoicing in the miracles
they could work through the authority given to them by Jesus. Even demons
obeyed their commands. Jesus told them not to rejoice because they had his
authority but to rejoice because their place in heaven was assured.
This should give us great satisfaction and courage. If we
listen to the voice of the Lord and answer his calling we too can be assured
that we will inherit the basileia,
God’s royal nature through his adoption.
Repent, for the kingdom of God is among us. We get to
hold the King in our hands and take him completely into our beings each and
every time we receive the Eucharist at Mass. Have you prepared your heart as a
thrown and your body as a basilica?
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