Sunday 3 July 2022 in the year of our Lord
1. What is the mission to which the Lord is calling you today? What is the harvest that the lord is calling you to reap?
2. Have you also had the experience in your life that your demons have been subjected to the name of Christ? Which are your demons?
3. What does it mean that our names are written in heaven? Are you happy for this or are you indifferent to this statement of Jesus?
| Lk 10:1-12, 17-20 | Κατά Λουκάν Ευαγγέλιον 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." | 1Μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα ἀνέδειξεν ὁ κύριος ἑτέρους ἑβδομήκοντα [δύο] καὶ ἀπέστειλεν αὐτοὺς ἀνὰ δύο [δύο] πρὸ προσώπου αὐτοῦ εἰς πᾶσαν πόλιν καὶ τόπον οὗ ἤμελλεν αὐτὸς ἔρχεσθαι. 2Ἔλεγεν δὲ πρὸς αὐτούς· ὁ μὲν θερισμὸς πολύς, οἱ δὲ ἐργάται ὀλίγοι· δεήθητε οὖν τοῦ κυρίου τοῦ θερισμοῦ ὅπως ἐργάτας ἐκβάλῃ εἰς τὸν θερισμὸν αὐτοῦ. 3ὑπάγετε· ἰδοὺ ἀποστέλλω ὑμᾶς ὡς ἄρνας ἐν μέσῳ λύκων. 4μὴ βαστάζετε βαλλάντιον, μὴ πήραν, μὴ ὑποδήματα, καὶ μηδένα κατὰ τὴν ὁδὸν ἀσπάσησθε. 5εἰς ἣν δ’ ἂν εἰσέλθητε οἰκίαν, πρῶτον λέγετε· εἰρήνη τῷ οἴκῳ τούτῳ. 6καὶ ἐὰν ἐκεῖ ᾖ υἱὸς εἰρήνης, ἐπαναπαήσεται ἐπ’ αὐτὸν ἡ εἰρήνη ὑμῶν· εἰ δὲ μή γε, ἐφ’ ὑμᾶς ἀνακάμψει. 7ἐν αὐτῇ δὲ τῇ οἰκίᾳ μένετε ἐσθίοντες καὶ πίνοντες τὰ παρ’ αὐτῶν· ἄξιος γὰρ ὁ ἐργάτης τοῦ μισθοῦ αὐτοῦ. μὴ μεταβαίνετε ἐξ οἰκίας εἰς οἰκίαν. 8καὶ εἰς ἣν ἂν πόλιν εἰσέρχησθε καὶ δέχωνται ὑμᾶς, ἐσθίετε τὰ παρατιθέμενα ὑμῖν 9καὶ θεραπεύετε τοὺς ἐν αὐτῇ ἀσθενεῖς καὶ λέγετε αὐτοῖς· ἤγγικεν ἐφ’ ὑμᾶς ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ. 10εἰς ἣν δ’ ἂν πόλιν εἰσέλθητε καὶ μὴ δέχωνται ὑμᾶς, ἐξελθόντες εἰς τὰς πλατείας αὐτῆς εἴπατε· 11καὶ τὸν κονιορτὸν τὸν κολληθέντα ἡμῖν ἐκ τῆς πόλεως ὑμῶν εἰς τοὺς πόδας ἀπομασσόμεθα ὑμῖν· πλὴν τοῦτο γινώσκετε ὅτι ἤγγικεν ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ. 12λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι Σοδόμοις ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ ἀνεκτότερον ἔσται ἢ τῇ πόλει ἐκείνῃ. 17Ὑπέστρεψαν δὲ οἱ ἑβδομήκοντα [δύο] μετὰ χαρᾶς λέγοντες· κύριε, καὶ τὰ δαιμόνια ὑποτάσσεται ἡμῖν ἐν τῷ ὀνόματί σου. 18εἶπεν δὲ αὐτοῖς· ἐθεώρουν τὸν σατανᾶν ὡς ἀστραπὴν ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ πεσόντα. 19ἰδοὺ δέδωκα ὑμῖν τὴν ἐξουσίαν τοῦ πατεῖν ἐπάνω ὄφεων καὶ σκορπίων, καὶ ἐπὶ πᾶσαν τὴν δύναμιν τοῦ ἐχθροῦ, καὶ οὐδὲν ὑμᾶς οὐ μὴ ἀδικήσῃ. 20πλὴν ἐν τούτῳ μὴ χαίρετε ὅτι τὰ πνεύματα ὑμῖν ὑποτάσσεται, χαίρετε δὲ ὅτι τὰ ὀνόματα ὑμῶν ἐγγέγραπται ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς. |
Fr John Lankeit's homily :
...the Lord appointed seventy[-two] others whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit. (Lk 10:1)
When Jesus gave these 72 disciples their marching orders prior to sending them into the surrounding towns to announce the Gospel, he said, among other things:
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. (Lk 10:5-6)
This is an exceedingly important aspect of Jesus’ instructions because it summarizes the necessary attitude of a Christian who sets out to evangelize.
Jesus does not guarantee that the Gospel will be well received. He does, however, expect all of his disciples—including you and me—to convey the Gospel in its fullness, while still respecting the hearers’ freedom to accept or reject the gift of faith and the offer of salvation.
This same principle is expressed in a famous quote by St. Bernadette, who, as a teenager in late 19th Century France, was chosen by the Blessed Virgin Mary to receive her messages in the grotto of Lourdes.
When only 14 years old, Bernadette was interrogated repeatedly, and then threatened by the civil authorities, to try to force her to stop visiting the grotto where the mysterious lady appeared...and to stop speaking about what she was being told. She was rebuked by the government officials for having failed to convince them that she was telling the truth.
Bernadette responded to upbraiding with these profound words:
“My job is to inform, not to convince.”
Bernadette steadfastly related what the Blessed Mother had communicated to her while remaining indifferent to the threats—even when the authorities threatened to imprison her parents! She knew that her visions were authentic and that everything else in the created world paled in comparison to the supernatural favor she had been shown by our Lady. The profound joy she experienced in her interactions with Our Lady so outweighed anything that the civil authorities could promise...or threaten...that Bernadette could not be intimidated to recant her story...or to refrain from visiting the grotto again.
From the moment St. Bernadette first met the Mother of God in the grotto of Lourdes, her entire perspective—not to mention her heart—changed. Her life thereafter reflected what St. Paul wrote to the Galatians in our 2nd Reading:
...may I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. (Gal 6:14)
When one has been touched by Jesus Christ—especially through his Mother, Mary—something fundamental changes inside the person. Bernadette’s unflinching witness demonstrated what St. Paul wrote to the Philippians:
...I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. (Phil 3:8)
I think St. Bernadette might have been in the passenger seat of my car this past Monday when a State Trooper pulled me over on the 202 Westbound.
When the Trooper got out of his car and approached my window, he said, “Hi, Father” and then asked me if I had any weapons in the car!
I said, “Other than my Rosary, no!”
I handed him my license, registration and proof of insurance and he told me to “sit tight for a bit” as he walked back to his vehicle. After a few minutes, he returned with my documents and a printout in his hand—which I assumed was a ticket. He came up and said, “I’m going to let you off with a warning, because you admitted what you did, and I don’t think making you pay money is necessary to convince you to be more careful.”
I thanked him, and once it was clear that the discussion about the traffic infraction had ended, I decided to go out on a limb—I asked him, “Are you Catholic?”
He said, “I was raised Catholic but I’ve kind of gotten away from it.”
I asked him, “Is it ok if I give you a Rosary?”
He said, “Sure”.
The reason I asked if it would be ok to give him the Rosary was because I didn’t want the Trooper to think I was trying to curry favor with him. We had, after all, concluded the conversation about the traffic infraction, so I considered this a different conversation. Clearly, he did too.
After I blessed the Rosary and handed it to him, he said, “You have no idea how much this means to me!”
I responded, “You know...the Blessed Mother will use any means...even my bad driving...to get a Rosary into the hands of one of her Son’s ‘lost sheep’.”
This was the first and only time in my life I can remember being glad I was pulled over.
Like the 72 disciples who were to spread the Gospel and not worry about its acceptance or rejection; and like St. Bernadette, who knew that her only job was to speak the truth and not worry about convincing her interrogators; I felt compelled to risk rejection by a Trooper who could have considered my offer of a Rosary to be an act of sucking-up or of religious fanaticism.
But these are just the kinds of risks that Jesus inspires us to take because the upside—the winning of a soul back to him—greatly outweighs the downside—having our offer rejected.
Even ninety-nine rejections would be worth saving a single lost soul. Just recall Jesus’ words in the Gospel of Luke:
...I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. (Lk 15:7)
When Christ is active in a soul, the person experiences the joy of being used by him as his “instrument” for a cause greater than any merely human endeavor. The 72 disciples, upon their return from their mission, demonstrated this in today’s Gospel:
[They] 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 10:17-20)
Jesus knows our human nature. He knows how easily we’re tempted to appropriate the glory what belongs to him by attributing to ourselves what he has done in and through us. He told his disciples that what was most important was not that they exercised power in his name, but rather, that they were chosen by him in the first place...that they were destined for Heaven.
But Jesus also gave his disciples a way to protect themselves from this sort of confusion and corruption—by total dependence on him. That’s why he gave his “advance men” these instructions:
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...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... (Lk 10:3-4, 7-8)
In other words: “You are going into hostile territory where you will experience opposition. In order to see that it is my power at work in you that wins souls to me, and not your own doing, you are going to have to step out of your comfort zone, without extra provisions to give you a false sense of selfsufficiency—or a perfect environment that meets your exact specifications. Without these comforts, you will realize that it is me—working through you—who is making your mission bear fruit.”
Such circumstances of insecurity and vulnerability—when they bear fruit—show the power of God at work—not just in spite of the weakness of the disciples, but—precisely through the weakness of the disciple. This is not to make us feel useless, but rather, to provide a more convincing demonstration of God’s power to a world that so readily rejects him.
But even in the apparent failure to persuade others to embrace the Gospel—Jesus does not want us his disciples—to lose our peace. Neither does he want us to hammer the person into submission. Jesus explains what to do when we face opposition:
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. (Lk 10:10-11)
Like St. Bernadette, each of us is to speak the truth and leave the acceptance or rejection up to the individual. If we are rejected it’s not personal—at least it’s not a rejection of us, as persons. After all, just before the 72 set out for their mission, Jesus had also said to them:
He who hears you hears me, and he who rejects you rejects me, and he who rejects me rejects him who sent me. (Lk 10:16)
Think about this. Jesus loves us so much that, if we are faithful to our mission to share the Gospel, we cannot lose...even if the message is rejected!
There are two reasons for this...
First, because the rejection of the Gospel by those to whom we proclaim it is not a rejection of us...but, rather, a rejection of Jesus and, by extension, God the Father.
Secondly, whether we are successful or not by human standards, our names are, nevertheless, written in Heaven. In other words, we are already loved and chosen by Jesus regardless of whether we succeed in making converts or not.
As long as we are faithful to our mission, we cannot lose!
In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus said:
Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. (Mt 24:35)
Spreading the enduring words of Jesus—the Gospel—must, then, be our only concern.
It is the greatest act of charity to share the truth in this world of lies—lies about the human person; lies about the meaning and purpose of life; lies about family and relationships.
When we plant the seeds of truth—the timeless truth of the Gospel—and this culture of lies inevitably fails to deliver in its false promises—some of the lost sheep will find their way back to the truth, because you and I were willing to speak the enduring, eternal words of Jesus Christ to them...even when it cost us something to do so.
And that is how his lost sheep will find their way home!
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