Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 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.”
Go on your way
1. He sent them in pairs. Something essential in Christianity is community life, never act on your own. Doing things alone can lead you to fall into tremendous egocentrism, where you want all the spotlight on you. This is not good for a Christian. That’s why Jesus teaches that life should be shared with others, accepting help and providing help, to proclaim the beauty of living. Going alone cuts off the joy that comes from shared living.
2. Pray. Prayer is crucial. Being Jesus’ disciple is His choice, but you’re also the fruit of the prayers of a community. We’re not part of a corporate setup or human resources managers. Today, I invite you to pray for more Christians to share the gospel, for more people to show the beauty of having God in their lives. We need to clearly show the living God to a world that is often confusing, where truth gets overshadowed by the opinions of the majority. Jesus wants to shine through you and me, but we need Him to shine in many hearts.
3. Go. There are wolves, and they’re cunning. In your life, there’ll be people waiting for you to stumble and fall. Be prudent because some even take joy in seeing you fail. But the key is that you have a strength in your heart that keeps you moving forward. You’re not defeated as long as you don’t feel defeated. For a Christian, death is not the final word. Even if you’re attacked on social media or defamed, you can still show life. Have confidence in God and in yourself because, as a messenger, you have so much to give.
Never forget that something good is on the way!
God bless you and protect you in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
