Carry
no money bag, no sack, no sandals; and greet no one along the way. Into
whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace to this household.' If a peaceful person
lives there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you.
Stay in the same house and eat and drink what is offered to you, for the
laborer deserves his payment.
Do not
move about from one house to another. Whatever town you enter and they welcome
you, eat what is set before you, cure the sick in it and say to them, 'The
kingdom of God is at hand for you.' Whatever town you enter and they do not
receive you, go out into the streets and say, 'The dust of your town that
clings to our feet, even that we shake off against you.' Yet know this: the
kingdom of God is at hand. I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom on
that day than for that town."
The
seventy-two returned rejoicing, and said, "Lord, even the demons are
subject to us because of your name." Jesus said, "I have observed
Satan fall like lightning from the sky. Behold, I have given you the power to
'tread upon serpents' and scorpions and upon the full force of the enemy and
nothing will harm you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the spirits are
subject to you, but rejoice because your names are written in heaven."
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Reflection:
An Extra Ordinary Minister of the
Holy Communion was asked by his parish priest if he could go to a nearby
village to give the Body of Christ to an old sick man. The minister of the Holy
Communion agreed so he went wearing his uniform that would identify him as
such. When he arrived everyone was calling him father so the lay minister would
always tell them that he was not the priest. Majority of those who were present
were also not able to respond to the prayers.
What can we learn from this true
story? Many Catholics do not know how to differentiate a priest from a lay
minister. Many of us do not even know the basic prayers of the church. Thus
many are Catholics in name only. Many still need to be evangelized; many still
need to be educated about the teachings of the church.
When Jesus appointed the seventy two
to become His co-workers in his vineyard He recognized that there was plentiful
harvest but very few workers to help Him. Is this not the situation also right
now? The call of Jesus to the seventy two is His call to us also.
Jesus wants us to become His close friends and partners in His ministry of
evangelization.
Let us not worry about the cost and
hardship that it would entail us because Jesus will always be there for us to
help us survive along the way. Let us also not be taken by the superficiality
of this world that we don’t notice the gentle voice of God whispering to us to
help Him in His mission.
Upon the return of the disciples
Jesus told them: “Rejoice because your names are written in heaven." The
same words we will hear someday the moment we respond in whatever way to the
call of God.
Would you respond to the Lord? – Marino J. Dasmarinas
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