XIV- Ordinary Sunday-C

XIV- O.T. Is. 66:10-4; Gal. 6:14-18; Lk. 10:1-12, 17-20

Today’s scriptures remind us that announcing the good news of the kingdom by words, deeds  and life is not the task of only a few, but is rather a task for all baptized Christians.

Luke’s Gospel has two stories of Jesus sending out his followers to go and spread the Good News. In chapter 9 Jesus sends the Twelve apostles and in chapter 10 he sends seventy two disciples. Matthew’s Gospel has only one: the sending of the Twelve. Scholars believe that Luke’s story of the sending out of the Seventy two is his way of emphasizing the universal scope of the message of Christ, as well as the mandate of universal evangelization, that every one is obliged to spread the message of Christ. The mission of the Twelve, according to Matthew, was limited to “the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Mat 10:6). The mission of the Seventy two has no such limitation. According to Jewish tradition there are twelve tribes of Israel and seventy two nations of the earth. The sending of the seventy two disciples, therefore, symbolizes the sending of the message of Christ to the whole world.

Every Christian is called to participate in the spreading of the message of Christ through a commitment to prayer and action. Jesus goes on to detail the disposition we should bring to the work of evangelization: a spirit of meekness and vulnerability, a spirit of politeness and adaptability to the changing and challenging local situations in which we find ourselves in the course of mission work.

The seventy two disciples were surprised to see that, acting in Jesus’ name, not only physical sicknesses healed but “even the demons” submit to them (verse 17). While they were preaching and healing, Satan's influence was rolling back wherever they spread the Good News.

They were told to travel light relying on the common people to feed and protect them. It is easy to get entangled in the things of this life. When we have too many things, they tend to possess us rather than we possess them. They make us their slaves. When we have too many modern apparatus with us we occupy most of our time playing with them. The less we possess the more we are free to devote our time in the service of the Lord.

Jesus commanded them never to stop or turn back; but to go ahead until they reached their destination. Not even greet any one on the way. It may sound a bit too impolite. But the urgency of the mission should keep one targeted and not tarry and get delayed on the way. With our anxiety and worries, we often tend to turn back and defy His command.

 “Men, like nails, lose their usefulness when they lose direction and begin to bend.” Says, Walter Savage Landor. So it is of utmost importance that we should always be conscious of our goal.

When Lot and his family fled from the wicked men God commanded him to go forward and never turn back until they reached the mountain top. But Lot’s wife turned back to see what was happening behind her, and she became a salt statue.

Orpheus is a Greek mythical figure. His music was enchanting. One day he was shocked to see that his wife was dead. So he went to the underworld and played so mournfully that the god of the underworld, was moved by his music. Hades, the god of the underworld agreed to allow Eurydice, his wife to return with him to Earth on condition; he should walk in front and not look back until they both reached the upper world. He set off with Eurydice following him, and in his anxiety as soon as he reached the upper world he turned to look at her, and she vanished for the second time.

So the missionary should remain fully focused on the goal ahead, not to look back or around on anything that might distract the purpose of mission.

Jesus is saving the world, but not all by himself.

He wants to do it with our help. From the pope down to the most recently baptized believer, we all share the same mission: to help Christ build up his Kingdom. We are players on his team. And there are no bench warmers on his team.

It is worth noticing that Jesus sent them out two by two. Those two could be husband and wife of a family. So the first evangelizers started the mission in their own homes. A husband should evangelize the wife and wife should evangelize the husband and both together should evangelize their children and neighbors.

Let us start preaching the gospel in our families by leading exemplary Christian lives, in which spouses love and respect each other, raise their children in the spirit of obedience and service, discipline them with forgiving love and teach them by persistent example to pray, love and help others by sharing their blessings. (L-13).