October 3, 2013 The Mission of the Seventy[-two] 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: The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few. With these words Jesus describes the situation as he sends out the 72 disciples. The picture remains very much the same today. The grace of God is working in the hearts and souls of people. They are ready to be won over to the Lord, but there are not enough to harvest them for God’s kingdom. When the Lord asks us to pray the master of the harvest to send out laborers, he does not mean to ask us to pray only for more priests or religious. Lay apostles are also very much needed, and very often it is the apostolate of like with like that is most effective: as, for instance, students leading fellow students to the Lord and workers leading fellow workers to him. Do you feel the Lord’s call to you to join in the harvest?
Posted on: Fri, 04 Oct 2013 05:51:12 +0000