Gospel reading: Lk 10:1-12
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.”
REFLECTION
The Lord appointed seventy-two others
Aside from the Twelve Apostles, Luke adds this account of the sending of other 72 disciples to also fulfill Jesus’ mission for them. The reason is that “the harvest is abundant but the laborers are few.” And that is why the need to also beg the harvest master to send more laborers to the harvest.
Do we see ourselves as also called to be these “other laborers” in our own time? Indeed, all around us there is so much “harvest” to be done but perhaps we may just be “sitting idle.” So many poor children to be taught the basics of the faith, so many sick and aged to be visited, so many hungry and thirsty to be fed, so many victims of human trafficking to be rescued, etc. As one movie suggested, “The Mission Continues…”
Are we ready to be part of Jesus’ mission?
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SOURCE: “365 Days with the Lord,” ST PAULS, 7708 St. Paul Rd., SAV, Makati City (Phils.); Tel.: 895-9701; Fax 895-7328; E-mail: [email protected]; Website: http://www.stpauls.ph.
