XIV SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Luke 10:1-9
This Sunday’s gospel speaks of Jesus sending seventy-two disciples to the “places he himself was to visit”. This was a training mission for his disciples. They should prepare the terrain for Him. And he sent them in pairs. The mission received from Jesus Christ is never individual, but it always implies cooperation with others. As he sent them, Jesus put forward a few pieces of advice.
We should be aware that the task is huge. Indeed, the harvest is big, and the labourers are few. Alone, we will not finish the job. However, the field is not ours; it belongs to the Lord. Thus, we should remind him that he must find more workers for his mission.
The mission entrusted to the Church is full of danger. Jesus doesn’t hide it: “I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.” We may be attacked and killed. Indeed, through the centuries, many have paid with their lives for daring to announce the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We are warned that we must be prepared for rejection. That will be full of evil consequences for those who reject the Gospel. They will be worse off than the people of Sodom.
The missionaries sent by Jesus must be single-minded in the task entrusted to them. They should not waste time on secondary things, like greeting people along the way. In their travels, they should accept people’s hospitality. And they cannot forget that they have a mission of peace. They are sent to proclaim the same Good News that Jesus preached: “The kingdom of God is very near to you.” As a sign of God’s Kingdom, they must care for the sick with love and compassion.
In the second reading, Paul reminds us that the proclamation of the Gospel demands sharing in the cross of Jesus Christ. In communion with Jesus Christ, we become “an altogether new creature.”.
