14th Sunday in Ordinary Time C
Isaiah 66: 10-14, Ps 65:1-7, 16.20. Rv.1,
Like a son comforted by his mother will I comfort you.
Come and hear, all who fear God, I will tell you what he did for my soul.
Galatians 6: 14-18,
The only thing I can boast about is the cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
He loved me and gave his life for me
Luke 10: 1-12, 17-20
1 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them out ahead of him in pairs, to all the towns and places he himself would be visiting. 2 And he said to them, 'The harvest is rich but the labourers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send labourers to do his harvesting. 3 Start off now, but look, I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. 4 Take no purse with you, no haversack, no sandals. Salute no one on the road. 5 Whatever house you enter, let your first words be, "Peace to this house!" 6 And if a man of peace lives there, your peace will go and rest on him; if not, it will come back to you. 7 Stay in the same house, taking what food and drink they have to offer, for the labourer deserves his wages; do not move from house to house. 8 Whenever you go into a town where they make you welcome, eat what is put before you. 9 Cure those in it who are sick, and say, "The kingdom of God is very near to you." 10 But whenever you enter a town and they do not make you welcome, go out into its streets and say, 11 "We wipe off the very dust of your town that clings to our feet, and leave it with you. Yet be sure of this: the kingdom of God is very near."
17 The seventy-two came back rejoicing. 'Lord,' they said, 'even the devils submit to us when we use your name.' 18 He said to them, 'I watched Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 Look, I have given you power to tread down serpents and scorpions and the whole strength of the enemy; nothing shall ever hurt you. 20 Yet do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you; rejoice instead that your names are written in heaven.'
The harvest is rich but the labourers are few
To know Jesus is to be transformed by Jesus
There is one word that can bring peace and joy to the world. That word is ‘Jesus’. He is the message. He needs people to bring this message to everyone. Today we learn how. Like Moses, who gave his spirit to seventy-two elders, Jesus invests seventy-two with his spirit. Then He sends them out. Notice, all proclamation begins with prayer. “Pray the Lord of the harvest”. It is a perilous task. God loves the world so much (John 3:16) but love makes Him helpless – love will not force, or threaten, strike or destroy. Love can only appeal and beg when misunderstood. People misunderstand Jesus and his missionaries: “You are like lambs among wolves”.
Missionaries are to depend totally on the power of God, living and working in poverty – not because they despise wealth but they have a superior power within them, the power of the Spirit. ”Carry no purse”. God will provide what they need. They should be concerned only with proclaiming the message: “Greet no one on the way” - there is no time to waste in talking. They are not to look to their own comfort and convenience: “stay in the same house”. The missionaries have a supreme gift, which only Jesus can give – peace. They are to give that to all who are worthy of it. They are to cure the sick – the ministry of healing is always part of Jesus’ instructions to his missionaries. Then they are to proclaim the message. But actually what did these seventy-two proclaim. What did they know? They knew little if any theology or Bible. But one thing they did know. They knew Jesus. This made them excellent missionaries. Our message is JESUS. Unless we know Jesus personally we are in no way fit to be his missionaries. Jesus isn’t a doctrine or a theory. He is a Person. What did they say about Jesus – what he had done for them, how God came to them in Him. An atheist friend to a recent convert; ’So you’ve been converted to Jesus then’, ‘Yes’, ‘You must know a lot about Him’. ‘Not really, I’m not educated’. ‘At least you must know where he was born, when he died and what he preached’. ‘I wish I did, but I don’t know anything really’. ‘You’re a fine convert then’ the atheist said sarcastically. ‘I only know one thing. Three years ago I was a drunkard. I was in debt. My family was falling apart. My wife and family dreaded me coming home. But then I met Jesus. Now I don’t drink. I’m not in debt. We are so happy at home now. Jesus has done all this for me’ (The Song of the Bird, page129).
Jesus wants you to be a missionary. Go and tell people what he has done for you.
Father, may we share Jesus with others by witnessing to the great things he has done in our lives.
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