Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves

 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, Jesus 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 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.  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."  Luke gives us an additional group of apostles, besides the twelve.  These seventy are noted in Church history as having had a great impact throughout the known world, and from them came early bishops of the Church in various parts of the world.   Note that like the twelve apostles, they are sent out two by two (Mark 6:7).  My study bible calls us to note that Jesus tells us to pray not only for the harvest of converts to Christ, but also for the laborers who will reach them.

"Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves."  Lambs, my study bible tells us, speak of the sacrificial life of the apostles, and of all followers of Christ.  The wolves, it says, 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."  As lambs, humility befits the conduct of the apostles of Christ.   They are not to be ostentatious in their travels.  They are characterized by peace.  And note how simply this peace works:  as a kind of grace, peace is wished upon a home.  But, like faith, a son of peace must be present to receive such a blessing; if not, it will return to the apostles.

"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."  My study bible points out that twice here Christ commands the apostles to eat whatever is offered to them.  It notes a double significance to this repeated instruction:  first, the apostles must be content with whatever is offered, even if the food is little and simple; and second, the gracious reception of the  hospitality of others takes priority over personal fasting or dietary disciplines.  My study bible adds that when St. Cassian the great Desert Father visited  monastery, the fast was always relaxed to honor him as guest.  When he asked why, the elder told him, "Fasting is always with me, but you I cannot always have with me.  Fasting is useful and necessary, but it depends on our choice, while the law of God demands charity.  Thus receiving Christ in you, I serve you with all diligence, and when I have taken leave of you, I resume the rule of fasting again."  In this way, these monastics would obey Christ's command here and also His command that we not "appear to others to be fasting" (Matthew 6:18; see also Romans 14:2-6; 1 Corinthians 10:27; Hebrews 13:2).  Once again, we must note that these instructions speak of the conduct of humility.

"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 encourages us to note that the gospel message isn't simply that there is a Kingdom in the future, but rather that this kingdom of God has come near.   Note that whether the apostles are received or are not, in both instances the message is the same, that "the kingdom of God has come near to you."

"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 comments on these statements by Jesus that judgment is severe for those who reject Christ after experiencing His grace.  By contrast, 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).  Note that in the final statement here, Jesus refers to the presence of the Kingdom that has come near, which means His presence and also the presence of the One who sent Him.

Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name."  This affirms the implication of Christ's final instructions before the seventy were sent off:  that His presence is with them, and therefore His power.

What does it mean that the kingdom of God has come near to you?  Where is this kingdom of God?  Is it still present with us?  How about Christ's power to heal, or to cast out demons?  What of the judgment that Jesus teaches?  These are all questions that remain with us.  One answer to these questions that the Gospels would give us, is, of course, faith.  That is, where faith is, and the degree to which faith is present with us, conveys and carries the presence of Christ and Christ's kingdom.  How full is our faith, really?  How deeply has it permeated, transformed our characters, made us into that image of Christ that is within for each of us?  We could think, in particular, about the instructions of Christ to the seventy apostles, and how they convey and are permeated with notions of humility:  not to take an ostentatious trip, in which grand greetings are exchanged and met along the way, or announced with fanfare.  Whatever is offered, they accept.  They are not to "trade up" for better lodgings or more luxurious fare.  Everything becomes a question of grace for these lambs that are sent out among wolves.  How often do we allow grace to run our own lives?  Can we live on faith of this kind?  How do we practice humility in every day affairs?  Life is complicated, and every one of us has decisions to make regarding our own conduct as those who may carry Christ with us in our faith.  We may live in nominally Christian countries, but that doesn't mean that we don't daily face the same challenges of carrying the cross He commands us to carry (9:23).  The work of faith remains with us:  a challenge to learn humility and reliance upon God, to understand what it is to have gracious behavior, and to know that there is both power and responsibility within true faith.  These remain challenges for us all, and they remain daily questions to answer in the conduct of our own lives.  What is important to remember is not that we are promised one thing and another, but rather that we are each a part of something which we carry with us.  This kingdom of God which has come near remains with us, even as we are part of the Body of Christ, the Church present in the communion of saints and all those, such as the members of the seventy whose names and histories the Church commemorates still, both known and unknown to us.  It is present with us and near to us even in the Scriptures, the living word, and in our worship services, and in the help present to us which we don't see.  Our lives, in this context, become questions to us:  will we help carry this kingdom into the world?  Do we know what it is to be lambs among wolves, and to understand the depth and meaning of humility first and foremost before God?  Our questions may shift in appearance with each generation, but they remain in substance most likely the same.  It is all a question of what it means to carry this Kingdom with us, and where it leads for each and every life and for the cross that remains ours to carry with us.  We each have that question to answer, and it remains for us -- that is, how do we carry out this mission, even as we may still be lambs among wolves?