A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke 10: 1-12
After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road.
“When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will rest on them; if not, it will return to you. Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house.
“When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is offered to you. Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your town we wipe from our feet as a warning to you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God has come near.’I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.
REFLECTION: ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you
Nothing breaks the heart of God more than His people without Him.
In today's gospel, Jesus sends forth 72 disciples to prepare the way for him as he is journeying toward Jerusalem. Many people live life as if God does not exist. In the time of Jesus and the now present, God sows his word in the hearts of receptive men and women. The Lord needs to send laborers for His harvest. Prayer is the most effective way of winning new apostles. Jesus is lamenting that the harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few. There is no shortage of people to hear the word of God but what is needed are people to spread it.
There are so many who need to be evangelized and who need to have their faith refreshed. Jesus tells us to spread his word in peace. If we go places and find a kindred spirit then leave them your peace. If we go to places and they do not accept Jesus, then we are to leave in peace and bless them. In many situations, we will be like "lambs among wolves" but our role is to spread the love of God and therefore His peace.
Today is the feast day of St Francis of Assisi and we are asked, as were his followers, to bring peace and reconciliation into places of conflict. Always ask God for the grace of forgiveness and if not able then ask him for the gift of wanting to forgive. How well are we transforming lives around us--at work, gym, stores, church, family and friends? We are asked to be joyful, cheerful and loving to make Christ known to all.
The gospel of Jesus should be with us all the time so that we will not get it out of our head. Do I continuously care about people who don't know about Jesus?
Jesus took our hell so we could go to heaven, he took our sins for our salvation. How could we not care more for others, knowing that God cared more for us?
PRAYER: Dearest, Lord, may we pray for the "Spirit of Poverty" so that we are free of greed, vanity, possessions and preoccupations, and speaking ill of people. Let us make ample room for only your provision, depending only on You. Amen
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