The Mission of the Seventy[-two]
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Lk 10:1-12
1The Lord appointed seventy[-two] others whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit. 2He
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. 3Go on your way; behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves. 4Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals; and greet no one along the way. 5Into whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this household.’ 6If a peaceful person lives there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. 7Stay
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. 8Whatever town you enter and they welcome you, eat what is set before you, 9cure the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God is at hand for you.’ 10Whatever town you enter and they do not receive you, go out into the streets and say, 11‘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. 12I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom on that day than for that town.”
Reflection:
Carry
no money bag. Jesus is telling us that anyone who works for God must
not be preoccupied and busy with material things. Material things have a
place in the preaching of a primarily spiritual message. They are used
for the service of the kingdom of God. They are means, not ends. Thus, a
follower of Jesus trusts God alone and not money or wealth. The
disciple relies on the providence of God and not on human connections.
God
never stops to give us what we need in life. God will never cease to
share with us what we really need for our salvation. As a fitting
response, the disciple must be simple, even frugal. The lure of
luxuries, comfort, and privileges should not blind him on the road to
heaven. Furthermore, the Gospel opens to us the powerful message that we
take heaven as our sole treasure. God is the real reward. Jesus and his
cross are crowns of glory. The earth is only a road to heaven.
How do we show by our lives that Jesus
is our prized possession,
our only true treasure in this life?
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