Gospel – Luke 10:1-12;17-20
whom he sent ahead of him in pairs
to every town and place he intended to visit.
He said to them,
“The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few;
so ask the master of the harvest
to send out laborers for his harvest.
Go on your way;
behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves.
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.”
Reflection on the Gospel
Let us remember that we are in the holy presence of God.
Do you remember when you were given a responsibility for the first time?
Was it by a parent or maybe a teacher?
I hope you can recall the feelings you had.
Pride? Fear? Joy? Sense of Maturity, even without knowing the word?
I remember the first time my parents trusted me to babysit for my younger siblings.
The results could be measured, as good teachers would say.
Jesus is asking us to tell others that the kingdom of God is at hand.
That’s a little harder to measure, although the early disciples knew that even the demons were subject to them because of the name of Jesus.
Jesus observed Satan fall like lightning from the sky.
These are observable results.
I saw the pride on my parents faces when they came home to a home with their children safely asleep.
Take a moment to enjoy the pride in the heart of Jesus: your names are written in heaven.
Saint John Baptist de La Salle – Pray for us.
Live, Jesus, in our hearts – Forever.