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.” LK 10:1-12, 17-20
We can see how a follower of Christ is rewarded from beginning to end in today’s Gospel. First, Jesus sends His followers in pairs. It is important to have someone share the faith with you. We are much stronger when we can support one another and have a sounding board to bounce things off of when we are struggling. Second, Jesus tells them they will suffer, “I am sending you like lambs among wolves”. He then tells them to take nothing, die to self, they will not need any material things to convert hearts/souls. He gives them a heads up that some will accept and some will reject, not to waver. Last, they come back not sad, lonely, or miserable, but rejoicing. They overcame Satan, they healed, their faith grew stronger and most important of all Jesus tells them, “Do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you but rejoice because your names are written in heaven.” Through giving everything up to follow Christ, sharing it with others, overcoming the power of Satan, Jesus rewards them with eternal life.
Jesus does not call a few. He calls every baptized soul for this mission. It begins with those who are closest to you, then we must go forth into our community and the world to bring other’s this Good News!
Today’s challenge: Ask God what your purpose is in this mission He has created you for. If you are young, you are being formed now results will come later. If you are older, you have been formed, it’s go time, how can you help in your parish and community. Find someone to do it with or bring someone with you!
Be a servant, become a saint!
#Christian YOLO
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