He depends on you and me!
He depends on you and me!
This weekend's reading reminds us that even in a broken world, even in our weakness, God is at work. He heals, transforming and sending us out.
The first reading from the book of Isaiah is from the third Isaiah (56-66). The passage for this weekend from chapter 66 is about comfort and hope. They were in exile for fifty years, and when the Persians conquered the Babylonians, they allowed the Jews to return home. They are back in Jerusalem, but things were not as they had expected. When they came back, it was a discouraging scene: their cities and homes were ruined. God engages with them through Isaiah and insists that they rejoice. He promises that Jerusalem will be like a mother once again, nurturing them and caring for them. We see the same message about Jerusalem in several passages of the Old Testament. We read in Tobit 13:14, “Happy are those who love you, and happy are those who rejoice in your peace. Happy too are all who grieve over all your afflictions, for they will rejoice over you and behold all your joy forever.” God told the Israelites they would enjoy prosperity once again. Psalm 66, our responsorial psalm, echoes this call to rejoice.
Second reading from Galatians 4:14-18, Paul concludes with a clear and strong statement of faith. He proclaimed that he never boasts except in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. In the modern world, we are familiar with boasting through social media and other means. Paul says that he is boasting only in what Jesus did for us on the Cross. Because the cross is where real sacrifice and love happened. We are saved by the cross, not by our merits.
The Gospel passage (Luke 10:1-12, 17-20) is paired with the mission of the seventy-two. He sent them to prepare the way for him. They were ordinary people sent with an extraordinary task: to bring peace, heal the sick, and preach the Kingdom of God. Jesus gave them practical advice: travel lightly, stay with those who welcome you, and keep moving if you are rejected. He does not promise comfort or success; he prepares them for the challenges. They had to trust in God's provision.
The seventy-two returned rejoicing, and said, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us because of your name" (Luke 10:17). Jesus joined their enthusiasm and redirected them, "I have observed Satan fall like lightning from the sky… Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice because your names are written in heaven" (Luke 10:18&20). The actual value is not what they accomplished, but in their/relationship with God.
In the Gospel of Luke, in chapter 9:1-6, we see Jesus sending the twelve with power and authority over all demons and diseases, and in chapter 10:1-20, sending seventy-two in pairs, which is only in Luke’s Gospel. Jesus patterned his missionary effort on Moses (Numbers 11:24-26). Here, Moses chose seventy elders and asked them to stand around the tent. God took some of the spirit that was on Moses and bestowed it on the Seventy. But two men, Eldad and Medad, also received the spirit in the tent. The seventy-two bring Good News and love the people of whatever town they enter. They showed those people that evil is being defeated by curing the sick and liberating them from demons. The seventy-two returned with great joy, and Jesus rejoiced with them.
Jesus sent them out like lambs among the wolves. In the time of Noah, God certainly could have recreated the world from nothing as in the beginning. Instead, he decided to have pairs of animals in the ark and depended on their fruitfulness to propagate the new covenant after the flood. Similarly, God relied on the missionary journey of the seventy-two. They went out to their mission territory and wished them peace, cured the sick, and proclaimed the kingdom of God.
We are seventy-two who are sent out to spread the Good News of peace, comfort, and hope. He depends on us today to bring his message to the world. Jesus Christ has conquered evil through his passion, death, and resurrection. He is with us. He gave us the Sacraments to provide us with life, nourishment, healing, forgiveness, and to prepare us for service. Every time we gather to celebrate the Eucharist, he gives us nourishment and sends us out to proclaim the Good News. Let us be one of the seventy-two to bring peace, comfort, and hope.