Imagine being one of these seventy-two disciples. The twelve Apostles had been sent out on a similar mission (Luke 9:1-6.) Their lives had already changed dramatically. Each had given up everything to follow Jesus. They saw in Christ the fulfillment of the promise made to their people, and they longed to be with Him. Then, things changed when the Twelve were called to go out into the world and show the power and authority that Christ had given to them. The students became teachers, and word of the Messiah spread.
In today’s Gospel, things are changing again. The call of the Twelve is becoming the call of the seventy-two because “the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.” Though these disciples are not given the full authority that the Twelve received in their mission, Jesus appoints dozens of those who have come to believe in Him to go and get other places ready to receive Him. His instructions echo those he had given His Apostles. He essentially instructed them, “Go into towns with nothing, stay with whoever welcomes you, eat whatever they feed you. Tell them about Me, so they are ready to receive Me.”
What must they have felt? Unsure, incapable, unworthy? But like the Twelve, they went. Humbly, they trusted in Jesus, and they went on their mission. And they were successful.
While he was still with them, Jesus, the perfect teacher, had given the Twelve, and then the Seventy-Two, a taste of what they would be called to do with the Holy Spirit when He was gone.
When the disciples returned rejoicing, He taught them again. They were understandably amazed and delighted by what they had been able to do in Jesus’ name, but we hear Christ’s call again to humility: “Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”
Our Pope and our Bishops follow a direct line of succession from those first twelve Apostles. Peter was eventually handed the keys of the Kingdom, and that call to teach and spread the truth of the Gospel has been carried forth ever since by our leadership. From the start, though, they were not expected to do it alone. Those who were given the gift of faith were also called to help spread the word.
If you are reading this today, then somewhere along the way, you heard the Gospel, and you have come to know the Messiah. Your heart has been touched, and your life has been changed. Now, humbly trusting in the One who called you, you are asked to go out into the world and make the way for Jesus to reach new hearts. How? Speak up, invite, and love completely, remembering that any heart touched is done through you, not by you. What a privilege it is to be that instrument. Doing so, you won’t have to imagine being one of the seventy-two anymore; you will be among them.
Daily Reading
Tuesday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Reading I Genesis 32:23-33 In the course of the night, Jacob arose, took his two wives, with the two maidservants and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the…
Saint of the Day
Sts. Aquila and Priscilla
Sts. Aquila and Priscilla
Feast date: Jul 08
Saints Aquila and Priscilla were a Jewish couple from Rome who had been exiled to Corinth, and were friends of St. Paul in the first century. They hosted St. Paul on his visit to that city and were probably converted by him. They are mentioned a few times in the New Testament in glowing terms by their friend Paul, who calls them “my helpers in Christ, who have for my life laid down their own necks” (Romans 16:3-4).They were tentmakers, thus sharing the same profession as Paul, and because of this it is thought that Paul may have worked with them. Acts 18:18-19 tells us that they accompanied Paul to Ephesus and stayed there with him for three years.In the era of house churches – when Mass was always celebrated in the house of one of the Christian community – their house was an important one.According to tradition they were martyred in Rome on their return, probably around the same time as St. Paul.