July 3, 2016

14th Sunday in Ordinary Time C
Isaiah 66: 10-14; Galatians 6: 14-18; Luke 10: 1-12, 17-20
How important am I in God’s kingdom? Does it matter how active I am in teaching and preaching
about Jesus? Does God intend me to be very active…kinda active…or once in a while active in
sharing my faith and my story of my life in Jesus? I really wonder how important I am in the whole
spectrum of the people God has created and chosen to be His own? I have so many other
obligations…at work…in family…community…school how much does God expect me to spend on
my faith sharing? Today’s gospel from St. Luke has a very unique way to address these questions
along with the Reflection questions.
The first interesting point is that Luke’s gospel is the only gospel that includes todays story of the
sending of the seventy-two disciples to prepare for Jesus’ arrival. In some of the manuscripts it says
the number being sent was seventy disciples…others say seventy-two. Why the discrepancy?
Scholars bring us back to Genesis 10: 2-31, where Moses lists the Table of the nations, “These are the
descendants of Noah’s sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth, to whom sons were born after the flood.” So these
were the only survivors of the flood and therefore the ancestors of the human race. Therefore the
number seventy or seventy-two represent all the nations of the world. The Hebrew Bible lists seventy
whereas the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the Septuagint has seventy-two. The number is
not as important as the sending of them out two by two. Earlier in the ninth chapter, Luke recounts
the sending out of the twelve apostles on mission two by two…this is also contained in Matthew and
Mark’s gospel. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary states that, “Three reasons for pairing are
involved: mutual support; bearing of witness to the truth of their testimony (see Deuteronomy 19:15); living
embodiment of the gospel of peace (Luke 10: 5-6).
So what is Luke implying in the number Jesus sends out? In choosing the seventy-two or seven,
Jesus is sending his disciples, which is each of us, not only to Israel but to the whole world. Fr.
Bausch in his homily this day recounts a humorous story, “So, as we heard, He sends them out two by
two, just like the Mormons and Jehovah Witnesses, who knock at our doors. Speaking of which, one humorist
says one day he was late leaving home for work when there was a knock at his front door. It was wet and cold
outside. He opened the door and there were two Jehovah Witnesses damp and shivering in the cold. They
asked if they could come inside.r Well, he just couldn’t just leave them standing there, so he said okay. He
brought them into his living room and offered them a chair. They were quiet for a long time, so he asked, ‘What
happens now?’ The older one said, ‘We don’t know. We never got this far before.” The bottom line as to the
meaning of the sending out of the disciples is that the mission of Jesus is not only carried by the
‘experts’…like priests, deacons, religious, but it is the responsibility of every believer. Do I believe
in what Jesus taught and lived that it is important enough that I share this? Why am I reluctant? Is it
because of laziness or fear or the feeling that I’m not qualified? Yet Jesus said often that where two
or three are gathered in His name He is present. Over and over in Luke’s gospel we see that the
mission of Jesus is accomplished by ordinary people like each one of us, doing ordinary things.
They are being faithful to their responsibilities realizing that they have been gifted and they are to
give.
A huge part of the role of each believer is HOW they are to do their ‘mission work’?
Living the Word, Scripture Reflections and Commentaries for Sundays and Holy Days states our role
so beautifully, “Pope Francis reminds us that as Church we are to proclaim the good news of Jesus, ‘so that
faith in Him might spread to every corner of the earth’ (Evangelii Gaudium, 19). We are missionaries whose
lives proclaim the joy of the gospel. We are dependent upon God for everything: faith, talents, the ability to
develop our talents, and life. We are mutually dependent upon one another. No one is an island, even in our
highly individualistic society When sick, I need someone to help me When in need, people turn to others for
assistance. God’s comfort is known by how we accept our mission to live the gospel and share the gifts God
has given us.
We can invite others to God’s kingdom but we are not in control of how people respond. As St. Francis de
Sales taught, do all through love, nothing through fear or force take time to deepen your union with God in
prayer. Give thanks for God’s gift of life and the gifts you’ve been given. Ask for help where you are in need.
Turn to the Body of Christ to fill in the gifts you lack. Now go and proclaim the gospel one person, one day, one
moment at a time.”
The bottom line at every moment of my life is that I am totally dependent upon God and the people
God has placed in my life to help me with Jesus’ command to love. The seventy-two were totally
dependent upon God. They were told that they might be rejected or mocked out. In these cases the
message of Jesus would be rejected. What are they to do…continue on. We are not in control of
what will happen when people reject our message; for them it is ’not the right time.’ God does not
reject anyone…He actively is sending people to touch others to see that they are loved and He cares
for them and invites them to love. That is God’s mission; our mission is to live God’s life and be
examples of Jesus teaching and love. I am not the answer to each person I meet…I am only one of
God’s infinite messengers. Am I living this message?
So I reflect on:
• Am I making a difference with my life?
• Am I grateful for being loved by God and being the recipient of all His gifts?
• Am I concerned with ‘What’s in it for me and mine?’
• When someone remarks that ‘you’re so good…so successful,’ what do they mean? Money, big
house, exotic vacations, important job, promotions, real nice neighborhood, three cars?
• Would I be defined as successful in terms of ‘the things I have’ or in terms that my life matters,
especially in the good that I do and the time I give, in the care, concern and compassion that I
show to others?
• Have you a sense of mission, of being chosen and sent?”
And Sacred Space 2016 sends each of us forth with these words: “Our joy is in our identity with Jesus, not in what we do. Our names are written in heaven because we are His beloved sons and daughters. Our names are never erased or crossed out Can I believe that my name delights God? Maybe in prayer repeat your own name for a while and sense the tone of God as God would say your name—with warmth and love. Jesus is preparing His disciples for mission. He leaves them in no doubt about the challenges, obstacles,and dangers that await them. They will succeed, however, because the power of God is working with them. Do I experience that joy when I do what the Lord wants me? The message entrusted to the disciples by Jesus is peace and the nearness of the kingdom of God. This same message of peace and justice, forgiveness and
healing, and the Good News of God’s kingdom, has been entrusted to the church through the centuries. Now it is my turn to witness to it.”