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14TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (C)

  1. In Chapter 9 of his Gospel, St. Luke tells us – “Jesus called the twelve together and gave them power and authority to overcome all demons and to cure all diseases. He sent them forth to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the afflicted.”

  2. In our Gospel reading today from Chapter 10 of his Gospel, St. Luke tells us – “The Lord appointed a further seventy-two and sent them in pairs before him to every town and place he intended to visit. They were to cure the sick and say to all the people – “The kingdom of God is at hand.”

  3. We can liken these scenes to the departure ceremonies of missionary congregations in the Church when new missionaries are given their mission charge and are sent off to fields afar; or to the bishop of a diocese – giving words of counsel to newly ordained priests who are soon to begin their priestly work in parishes among the people of the diocese. We can think of the twelve as the original apostles and their successors down through history as those who serve as bishops in the Church. We can think of the seventy-two as those first disciples and their successors in history – namely, you and myself – who are called to cooperate with our bishops in the work of the Gospel. In our Gospel passage this morning, we can sense the note of urgency in the words of Jesus. We can also note his warnings in regard to the hostility his disciples-friends will inevitably encounter. They will be like lambs among wolves. They are not to carry with them any tons of luggage. Because of the urgency, there will be no time to worry over what sort of food they will be eating or any time to be concerned with what sort of living quarters they will have. Their task is simple and direct – they are to say to all who will hear: “The kingdom of God is here”. The urgency of their mission is likened to that of farmers who are confronted with an abundant harvest that must be gathered into barns before the bad weather comes. (Fitzmyer)

  4. The kingdom of God is at hand. What is meant by this expression “the kingdom of God”? It has a Christological reference; it means the Lord Jesus himself. His coming among us inaugurates the kingdom of God on earth. It can also have a mystical reference indicating the state of a saintly person before God when we say, for example, “The kingdom of God is within us”. It can also have a church reference. The Second Vatican Council said of the Church – “It is the sign and secret beginning in history of the kingdom”. The kingdom is not some thing, some place, some geographical reference, some political entity. It means God’s actual sovereignty in the world. It means the rule of God, the reign of God, God being Lord of all, God’s will being done.

  5. We might ask what does an evangelist do. What does an evangelist look like? There must be good content delivered by the evangelist because the evangelist must say to everyone how much God loves us, how the Lord Jesus died on the cross for us, how he rose from the dead on the third day to share his life with us which is everlasting life. More importantly, who the evangelizer is is more important than what an evangelizer does/ In his wonderful encyclical, Pope Paul VI mentioned that our contemporaries in today’s world are not so much focused on a teacher but on a teacher who is also a witness to what he or she teaches. The evangelist then must first be a follower of Christ before he or she begins to speak of Christ. There are loads and loads of words in our society today. The only ones we can really follow are the ones of faithful witnesses.

  6. St. Gregory the Great asks in connection with our Gospel reading – Why did the Lord Jesus send out the seventy-two disciples in pairs, two-by-two, as St. Luke puts it? His answer is this: “The disciples were sent out in pairs to symbolize the centrality in their mission of the two great commands – Love of God, and love of neighbor.” Then Gregory adds an observation most embarrassing for a disciple to consider. Gregory writes – “Whoever does not love, ought not to preach!” Love of God, love of neighbor – this is absolutely essential for mission. Does not St. Paul remind us – If we have all sorts of gifts and the faith that can move mountains and give away what we possess, but are without love, we are nothing. And St. John the Evangelist adds to this – Whoever does not know love, does not know God.

  7. The Lord says to the seventy-two, and to all of us – “Carry no money bag, no sack and no sandals.” What does this mean? It means that wealth, prestige, newspaper and television notoriety are not Gospel means for the advancement of the Gospel. You and I live next door to many people who have never heard of God’s love, know little about the Lord Jesus, who don’t understand that by grace we share in God’s life. The only Gospels our neighbors are going to see are the lives we live. But one doesn’t even have to be in good health and doing all sorts of things. We may be quite ill, but we can be evangelizers because we can offer our prayers, works, sufferings for the advancement of the Gospel which is more powerful than all the speeches we can give.