On a Mission from God …
A Gospel Enquiry
The story about Jesus sending out the seventy-two disciples in pairs to announce the Good News is the Gospel reading for the Mass for Thursday in the Twenty-sixth Week in Ordinary Time. I recall a priest once telling students at Mass that he experienced this in his own life as a student in the seminary. He said that on most days, he was welcomed into people’s homes, but there were some nights when he slept out under the stars. I wonder what this might look like if we treated the Gospel as a metaphor and then looked for situations in which faith in action would bring people closer to the kingdom of God?
The Lord chose seventy-two others and sent them out in pairs ahead of him into every town and place where he planned to go. He said to them, “There are a great many people to harvest, but there are only a few workers. So pray to God, who owns the harvest, that he will send more workers to help gather his harvest. Go now, but listen! I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Don’t carry a purse, a bag, or sandals, and don’t waste time talking with people on the road. Before you go into a house, say, ‘Peace be with this house.’ If peace-loving people live there, your blessing of peace will stay with them, but if not, then your blessing will come back to you. Stay in the same house, eating and drinking what the people there give you. A worker should be given his pay. Don’t move from house to house. If you go into a town and the people welcome you, eat what they give you. Heal the sick who live there, and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God is near you.’ But if you go into a town, and the people don’t welcome you, then go into the streets and say, ‘Even the dirt from your town that sticks to our feet we wipe off against you. But remember that the kingdom of God is near.’ I tell you, on the Judgment Day it will be better for the people of Sodom than for the people of that town.” (Luke 10:1-12 - New Century Version)
SEE
What are the significant elements (the facts) in this Gospel? Have you ever been asked by Jesus to step out of your comfort zone? What are the significant elements of that situation? How did you respond? What happened because you responded in the way that you did?
What causes Jesus to send his disciples out on a mission? Why didn’t they need anything to carry out the mission? How does this apply to the situation in your own life?
What are the consequences for those who accept Jesus and those he sends to be a part of their lives? What are the consequences for those who reject Jesus and those he sends to be a part of their lives? What are the consequences for you and for others of your decision to act, or not act, on your situation?
JUDGE
What do you think about what Jesus expects of his followers? How does what you have read in the Gospel fit with your experience? Confronted with this, what are you feeling right now?
What does your faith tell you about what Jesus expects of you as one of his followers? How different is this from what you have found in the Gospel? What does your faith tell you about reconciling the elements that jar?
Ideally, what should our missionary endeavours look like, sound like, feel like?
ACT
What needs to change in the world you know so that Jesus and his disciples, including yourself, are welcomed and God’s mission embraced joyfully?
What simple action can you take over the next week that will contribute to bringing about that change?
Who can you involve in this action and how will you go about involving them?
Author: Pat Branson
Image source: https://verbumbible.com/2019/10/31/gods-mission-our-calling/