October 4, 2018

Gospel: Lk 10:1-12
After this, the Lord appointed seventy-two other disciples, and sent them, two by two, ahead of him, to every town and place, where he himself was to go. And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. So you must ask the Lord of the harvest to send workers to his harvest. Courage! I am sending you like lambs among wolves. Set off without purse or bag or sandals; and do not stop at the homes of those you know. Whatever house you enter, first bless them, saying, ‘Peace to this house!’ If a friend of peace lives there, the peace shall rest upon that person. But if not, the blessing will return to you. Stay in that house, eating and drinking at their table, for the worker deserves to be paid. Do not move from house to house. When they welcome you to any town, eat what they offer you. Heal the sick who are there, and say to them: ‘The kingdom of God has drawn near to you.’ But in any town where you are not welcome, go to the marketplace and proclaim: ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off and leave with you. But know for a certainty that the kingdom of God has drawn near to you.’ I tell you, that on the Day of Judgment it will be better for Sodom than for this town.

Reflections
Jesus sends them “ahead of him … to every town and place where he himself intended to go.“ It is also a preview of the ministry Jesus gives us today. We go “ahead of him,“ bringing his message where we go. Jesus warned the seventy to expect resistance and rejection. Some prefer to live their own lives to living meaningfully in the service of others. If not persecution and martyrdom, we might meet the indifference of those who are caught by increasingly materialistic and consumeristic society. Jesus‘ advice on the mission was to “travel light.“ In times, it would mean not to let stuff get in the way or conflict with your ministry of the gospel. God‘s blessings come in unexpected ways and many times more than our financial or material worries. St. Teresa of Avila‘s well-known saying reminds us of what is truly essential in following Jesus: Christ has no body on earth but yours; no hands but yours; no feet but yours. Yours are the eyes through which the compassion of Christ looks out to the world. Yours are the feet with which he is to go about doing good. Yours are the hands with which he is to bless others now.

© Copyright Bible Diary 2018