Successful mission
Credit to Author: Tempo Desk| Date: Sat, 06 Jul 2019 16:07:01 +0000
Gospel: Lk 10:1-12, 17-20 [or 10:1-9]
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.”
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Besides the Twelve whom he sends to preach to the lost house of Israel, Jesus appoints another group of disciples – the seventy-two (seventy in some manuscripts) – who will later proclaim the Gospel to pagan nations. This group will become the progenitors of different peoples in the world.
Jesus will send the disciples on mission before his ascension into heaven. In the meantime, he is preparing these men by engaging them in a practicum or their first training exercise. They are to set out on a mission of peace, giving shalom to every household and prepared to receive peace in return. They are called to witness to their trust in divine providence by traveling very light. They must learn contentment, remaining in their mission field and not shopping around for more comfortable lodgings.
The disciples are full of joy upon their return from their first salvo of missionary journey. They have witnessed the defeat of the powers of evil. Jesus spends time listening to their success stories and shares their exhilaration and joy.