The kingdom of God has come near you

After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go.  Then He said to them, "The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.  Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves.  Carry neither money bag, knapsack, nor sandals; and greet no one along the road.  But whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace to this house.'  And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest on it; if not, it will return to you.  And remain in the same house, eating and drinking such things as they give, for the laborer is worthy of his wages.  Do not go from house to house.  Whatever city you enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you.  And heal the sick there, and say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.'   But whatever city you enter, and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say, 'The very dust of your city which clings to us we wipe off against you.  Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near you.'  But I say to you that it will be more tolerable in that Day for Sodom than for that city.

"Woe to you, Chorazin!  Woe to you, Bethsaida!  For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.  But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you.  And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades.  He who hears you hears Me, he who rejects you rejects Me, and he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me." 

Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name."

- Luke 10:1-17

Yesterday, we read that when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, and sent messengers before His face.  And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him.  But they did not receive Him, because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem.  And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, "Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?"  But He turned and rebuked them, and said, "You do not know what manner of spirit you are of.  For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives but to save them."  And they went to another village.

Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, "Lord, I will follow You wherever You go."  And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."  Then He said to another, "Follow Me."  But he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father."  Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God."  And another also said, "Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house."  But Jesus said to him, "No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."
 After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go.   We recall that Jesus has steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem; that is, He has determined He will go toward His Passion.  The time has come for the gospel message to go everywhere before Him as He makes His final journey toward Jerusalem.  These seventy are sent out as missionaries, like the first twelve apostles.  My study bible notes that although they weren't as prominent as the Twelve, the Seventy carried out their missions with fervor and enthusiasm.  In the Tradition of the Church, the Seventy remained true to Christ and to their calling, playing an essential role in spreading the gospel not just to these cities Christ was to pass through, but out into the wider world as well.  Several of them are named elsewhere in the New Testament, in the Book of Acts and the letters of Paul.  All of them are remembered by the Church.

Then He said to them, "The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest."  My study bible notes that we are to prayer not only for the harvest of converts to Christ, but also for the laborers who will reach to them.  This has gone past the "tipping point" of Jesus' mission; He's on His way steadfastly toward Jerusalem, and His speech begins to reflect notions of judgment.

"Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves."  My study bible tells us that Jesus' characterization of these apostles as lambs suggests the sacrificial life of the apostles and all followers of Christ, a subject touched upon in yesterday's reading (above), but made much more explicit and vivid here.  It says, "The wolves are those who seek to frighten and devour those who follow the Lord (John 15:18)."

"Carry neither money bag, knapsack, nor sandals; and greet no one along the road.  But whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace to this house.'  And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest on it; if not, it will return to you.  And remain in the same house, eating and drinking such things as they give, for the laborer is worthy of his wages.  Do not go from house to house.  Whatever city you enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you."  Once again we note the great emphasis on bearing themselves with complete humility.  My study bible points out the emphasis of Christ on eating whatever is offered to them; Chris commands twice that they do so.  A note informs us that there is twofold significance to this:  first, they must be content with whatever is offered, even if the food is "little and simple;"  and second, "the gracious reception of others' hospitality takes precedence over personal fasting or dietary disciplines."  Fasting may be a helpful religious practice, especially as part of a monastic rule, but the law of God demands charity.  St. Cassian, a famous Desert Father, would relax fasting practice whenever the monastery had a guest.  When asked why, his response reflected the words of Christ in defending the "feasting" of His disciples:  "Fasting is always with me, but you I cannot always have with me."  "In this way," says my study bible, "the ascetics would obey Christ's command here and His command that we not 'appear to men to be fasting' (Matthew 6:18; see also Romans 14:2-6; 1 Corinthians 10:27; Hebrews 13:2)."   The rules set down by Christ are similar to those given to the Twelve:  they're not to "trade up" for better lodging, they conduct themselves with humility, the emphasis is on peace, and judgment comes from the hands of God.

"And heal the sick there, and say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.'  But whatever city you enter, and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say, 'The very dust of your city which clings to us we wipe off against you.  Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near you.'  But I say to you that it will be more tolerable in that Day for Sodom than for that city."   My study bible notes the emphasis:  the gospel message isn't just that there is a Kingdom in the future, but rather that this kingdom of God has come near.

"Woe to you, Chorazin!  Woe to you, Bethsaida!  For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.  But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you.  And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades.  He who hears you hears Me, he who rejects you rejects Me, and he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me."   My study bible suggest that judgment is severe for those who reject Christ after they have experienced His grace.  "In contrast," it says, "those who have never known Christ due to genuine ignorance are without sin in that regard (John 15:22-24), and are instead judged by their God-given conscience (Romans 2:12-16)."

Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name."  This is an affirmation that, indeed, the kingdom of God is present with them, carried with them as part of the gospel message.

My study bible gives us examples from the Seventy.  One of them was Barnabas.  He was a Jew of the tribe of Levi, born in Cyprus to wealthy parents.  He is said to have studied with Saul of Tarsus (later called Paul the apostle) under the great rabbi Gamaliel.  He was originally named Joseph, but was called Barnabas ("Son of Consolation") by the apostles (Acts 4:36) because he had the great gift of comforting the hearts of other people.  My study bible tells us that "he sought out Paul when everyone else was afraid of him, bringing him to the apostles."  Barnabas was the one first sent to Antioch with Paul.   Many ancient accounts claim that Barnabas was the first to preach in Rome and Milan.  He was martyred in Cyprus, and buried by his cousin Mark at western gate of the city of Salamis.  Also among the Seventy was the apostle Titus, called by Paul both "brother" (2 Corinthians 12:18) and "son" (Titus 1:4).  Titus was born in Crete, educated in Greek philosophy, but after reading the prophet Isaiah began to doubt the value of his earlier training.  Hearing about Jesus, he joined others from Crete who were going to Jerusalem to see for themselves.  He heard Jesus speak and saw His works, and joined Jesus' followers.  My study bible says, "Baptized by the apostle Paul, he worked with and served the great apostle to the Gentiles, traveling with him until Paul sent him to Crete, making him bishop.  It's said that he was in Rome at the time Paul was beheaded and buried the body of his spiritual father before returning home.  In Crete, he baptized many people and governed the Church on that island until he entered into rest a ninety-four.   There are other examples of the Seventy mentioned in Scripture, but we can get an idea from these two mentioned of the great power of the gospel, how people are drawn to it, and those from all walks of life become members of its evangelizing force.  Each of these individuals was called, one way and another, through their lives of great training and talent, all of it being used as befits the gospel, the spread of the message, the power of the whole of the Church.  In these two examples we see powerfully educated persons, Barnabas and Titus, one educated by the great Gamaliel in the fullness of the Jewish tradition, and the other in the splendor of classical Greek culture, philosophy, mathematics, and science.  Each contributed to the gospel message, bringing all their talents, time, and faith to use by Christ in the service of His Church.  And the same is true for each one of us, each of our lives.  It doesn't matter where we come from or what our talents are, what we've already been trained for, even the ways of thinking we've adapted from our own native homes and cultures.  All  of it, when we're called, can be used in the service of Christ and of His Church.  But that's not really up to us, it's up to the work of the Spirit, how we're called.  Each one comes in his or her own way, but all are called to serve, each in unique capacity, in all our diversity.    In this way, the kingdom of God is always near; we bring all that we have to its service, we bear it with us toward others.