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𝐎𝐂𝐓. 𝟏𝟖, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓: 𝐅𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐎𝐅 𝐒𝐓. 𝐋𝐔𝐊𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐄𝐕𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝟏: 𝟐 𝐓𝐢𝐦 𝟒:𝟗-𝟏𝟕

𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟏𝟒𝟓:𝟏𝟎-𝟏𝟑, 𝟏𝟕-𝟏𝟖 “𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐧, 𝐎 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐬𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐝𝐨𝐦.” 

𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋: 𝐋𝐊 𝟏𝟎:𝟏-𝟗

𝑲𝒆𝒚 𝑽𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒆: ‘𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒅𝒐𝒎 𝒐𝒇 𝑮𝒐𝒅 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖.’ (𝒗.9) 

         There are two important points that Our Lord Jesus Christ made when he appointed seventy-two disciples whom he sent out in pairs to go every town and villages to proclaim that “𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝑮𝒐𝒅 𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅.” (𝒗.9)    

         What are these two points? One is that there is so much to do then and now – meaning that the Gospel has to be preached throughout the world and the reality is that there are not enough workers who are willing to take up the challenge because of the sacrifices that go with it.

         The other point which every disciple must know is that even if we obey and take that first step to go and proclaim the Gospel the reality is that we cannot do it alone and at some point in time we will have to delegate the work that are before us. 

         Translated into present realities, the Gospel passage of today is telling us to look at the world around us as a field of great harvest that would draw all men to the Kingdom of God. And even if Jesus can do it alone, we see him delegating the work needed to get the harvest done. This is what Jesus also expects from us – that we need to delegate the work that need to be done because that is what evangelization is all about.

         For those who exercise authority as I did when I grew up in the corporate structure in the radio network that I was connected with many years back, I found it hard to delegate my workload to others. Not that I am a perfectionist, but I struggled with this in my professional life as I’d rather do the job myself as I want to get things done in the way that I want it done. Little did I know that God has so graciously gifted each individual with talent, wisdom and knowledge such that we can have even a multitude of people of diverse background working to achieve the same purpose and objective.

         Jesus certainly had more reason that any of us to avoid delegating his work to others especially when it came to proclaiming the Kingdom of God for he definitely knew whereof he speak. Yet he still sent out the 72 disciples who were divided into 36 teams with full authority to preach and heal the sick on his behalf (𝐯.𝟏). 

         When Jesus did that, he merely affirmed the often heard but not practiced idea of the development of the human potential as the most important task of a person in authority. Jesus could easily achieve the purpose for which he came and he doesn’t need these 72 neophytes to help him but he nevertheless harnessed them because he knew they will only grow to spiritual maturity if they are clothed with responsibility and authority.

         When he commissioned the 72, he gave them a vision of a great harvest for the kingdom of God. During his ministry, Jesus frequently used the image of a harvest to foretell the coming of God’s reign on earth. In doing so, Jesus makes it known that the harvest is the fruit of labor and growth – beginning with the sowing of seeds, then planting and weeding, growing, and finally fruit for the harvest.

         In like manner, we are to endeavor with the same instructions that Jesus gave to the 72 disciples and sow and plant the Word of God in the hearts of receptive men and women who submit to God and honor him as their Lord and King. The harvest that Jesus had in mind was not only the Jews but all the people of the world for “𝑮𝒐𝒅 𝒔𝒐 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝑺𝒐𝒏, 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒉𝒐𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒉 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆.” (𝑱𝒏 3:16).           

         As before, we too are like lambs being sent in the midst of wolves as the world around us has greatly changed from the time of Jesus and during the great revival of the Christian faith in Europe and most parts of the world. While Isaiah has foretold of a time when wolves and lambs will dwell in peace (𝐈𝐬𝐚 𝟏𝟏:𝟔, 𝟔𝟓:𝟐𝟓), we who are now being sent out must expect opposition and persecution from those who oppose the Gospel of Christ. Just as Jesus came to be our sacrificial lamb to atone for the sin of the world we too must be willing to sacrifice our lives in humble service of our Lord and Master.

         In our commission as the ambassadors for Christ in the post-modern world, the instructions remain the same as it were when the 72 were sent out. Jesus gave them instructions on how they were to carry out their ministry. We must go and serve as men without guile, full of charity and peace, and simplicity. We must give our full attention to the proclamation of God’s kingdom and not be diverted by other lesser things.

         We must travel light and only take what is essential and leave behind all forms of distractions in order to concentrate on the task of proclaiming the Word of the God. We must do our work not for what we can get out of it, but for what we can freely give to others, without expecting special privileges or reward.

         Such poverty of spirit is what will deliver us from greed and preoccupation with possessions that gives ample room for God’s own provision because the Lord wants us to be dependent on him and not on ourselves.

         What we all must remember is that when God gives us his Word we all are obliged to respond as there is no middle ground with respect to our commission. It’s either we are for or against God who gives us his Word that we may have life in him. God wills to work through and in each one of us for his glory. God shares his Word with us and he commissions us to speak it boldly and simply to others.

         In our lives as Sharers for the Marriage Encounter Weekend and the Life in the Spirit Seminars and, as facilitators of teachings in parishes and other charismatic communities, my spouse Malou and I have practically experienced both extremes from first-class accommodations to places that have limited or no facilities at all. But as emissaries of Christ who is the epitome of what humility is, workers in the vineyard of the Lord should not complain or grumble. For Malou and me, we have learned to be content whatever the circumstances (𝐏𝐡𝐢 𝟒:𝟏𝟏).        

         And today as we celebrate the Feast of St. Luke the Evangelist, Jesus is showing us from where our mission is to begin. It should begin with prayer: “𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒗𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒇𝒖𝒍, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒇𝒆𝒘. 𝑷𝒓𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒈𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒗𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒔𝒌 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒆𝒍𝒅𝒔” (𝒗.2).          

         Remember too that the 72 disciples whom Jesus sent in pairs are not better educated than the people they will be trying to draw. They also are not better situated as do the people to whom they will bring the message of salvation. What they had was the training and equipping they received from Jesus Himself. In other words, all that they had to stand on was the empowerment that Jesus gave to them and the vision they had to bring people to the kingdom of God.

         This is the same with us who are now being sent to be the good news to others and to succeed we all must fill our lives with prayer as Jesus did. 

          This Gospel also represents the two most important rules that Jesus wants his disciples to observe. These are (𝟏) 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐮𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐤 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐲 𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐲 (𝐯.𝟖) 𝐚𝐧𝐝, (𝟐) 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐨𝐝 (𝐯.𝟗).        

         To bring to others and stand witness to the Word of God is a tremendous privilege. Still, greater responsibility rests on those who will hear the Word of God because they will ultimately be judged according to the measure of their actions in relation to what they heard. And we whom Christ have called to minister to the world around us need to do what we are told to do, and this Gospel is simply reminding us to just do it. (𝘌𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘺 – 𝘖𝘤𝘵. 18, 2025)