He who hears you hears Me, he who rejects you rejects Me, and he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me

 

 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 it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that 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 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.  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."  Here Jesus appoints seventy more apostles to carry out and preach the word of God.  The records of the Church indicate that these served with dedication and zeal, and many of them are mentioned in the Book of Acts and also in the letters of St. Paul.  Many became bishops of various cities throughout the countries in which they traveled and made converts, as the Roman Empire of the time made possible such travel.  My study Bible notes here that Jesus instructs 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."   My study Bible comments that lambs 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).  This statement by Christ amplifies the teachings in yesterday's reading (see above) regarding discipleship.  

 

"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."  My study Bible asks us to notice that twice here Christ commands the apostles to eat whatever is offered to them.  It notes that this has a twofold significance.  First, the apostles must be content with whatever is offered, even if the food is little and simple.  Second, the gracious reception of others' hospitality takes precedence over personal fasting or dietary disciplines.  St. Cassian the Desert Father writes that when he visited a monastery, the fast was always relaxed to honor him as a guest.  My study Bible says that when he asked why, the elder replied, "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 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). 

"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."  My study Bible comments that the gospel message is not simply that there is a Kingdom in the future, but 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."  Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name."  My study Bible comments here that judgment is severe for those who reject Christ after experiencing His grace.  In 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).

 

 Many people suggest that -- for at least those of us in the West or in nominally Christian countries where the message of Christ has been heard for centuries -- we live in what some are calling a "post-Christian" world.  That is, a world in which the message of Christ has been preached and heard and part of the fabric of society for a very long time, and is now -- at least for some of the population -- fading.  That is, we live in countries where statistics indicate that those who formally hold Christian faith are receding in numbers.  Oddly, the same statistics have those who declare themselves to be "spiritual" rising nonetheless.  So, what are we to make of such stories and social reports in the light of Christ's words in today's reading?  Let us consider what it means to be exposed to Christ's gospel message of mercy and compassion, of salvation, and of the presence of the Kingdom -- and to reject that living witness.  It is very important to consider spiritual life on these terms, for we're not simply talking about an intellectual acceptance of a message.  Neither are we talking about obedience to something people can't fathom nor understand, in a blind sort of a way.  There are many who say that they were raised in homes where the Christian message was taken to one tangential extreme or another, and so have rejected Christianity, or at least embraced an ambiguous agnosticism, as a result of such experiences.  Many people possibly do not understand the fullness of the message and have perhaps been subject to distorted images of Christ and Christ's teachings.  But we know that in the world of today the gospel is available to all through popular media and in many translations, and churches of all sort also have media outlets that reach out to the world.  But there is one thing, or so it seems, of which many people are unaware or never seem to consider, and that is the presence of the Kingdom, and the power of Christ's spiritual truth.  As we can read in today's gospel passage, the Seventy return to Christ declaring, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name."  This is evidence of a spiritual presence, of something beyond intellectual assertion or a simple doctrine of doing good in the world, or a philosophy that sounds appealing and good.  This is powerful evidence of something that goes beyond words, or perhaps we should say, something for which the words and teachings of Christ are an icon.  That is, an opening to much, much more than words on paper, a sign of much more.  It is when that sign and that presence are rejected that we should not be too sure about the effects of such rejection.  Just as, for many people, good fortune or some sort of material blessing is automatically accounted as the result of one's own "luck" or personal merit, rather than something that suggests gratitude to God, so it is also with bad luck or bad fortune.  People fail to realize that stumbling blocks that come our way can also be lessons, teaching tools, salvation tugging at our sleeves to pay attention and to clean up our act, to become aware that there is more to life than luck or merit or ambition.  There is also holiness, and there is also the presence of the Kingdom which Christ has brought to us.  This is why the people of Chorazin and Bethsaida and Capernaum are those given warnings of "woes" in Christ's words in today's reading.  They have been the places that have benefited from the mighty works of Christ, witnessing the power of the presence of the Kingdom, and yet have rejected His ministry and mission.  In Mark's Gospel, Jesus teaches the disciples, "For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name, because you belong to Christ, assuredly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward" (Mark 9:41).  Have you been blessed by such a "cup of water" by one who, through faith, has seen the face of Christ in you?  In today's reading, Jesus tells the Seventy, "He who hears you hears Me, he who rejects you rejects Me, and he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me."  How has a person of faith passed on to you this living reality of the Kingdom through a kindness or even a correction?  We may be in what some call a post-Christian world, but we also need to stop and look around us at the things we take for granted which have come to us as a result of the presence of this Kingdom and Christ's teachings.  Justice systems have evolved which take care to protect the innocent through the conviction that comes from knowing that the greatest Innocent was also condemned to die the most ignominious criminal death.  As such, Jesus is the great Witness to the injustice of this world.  Activists against the institution of slavery were emboldened and inspired through Christ's gospel.  The first hospitals were created by Christian faithful.  Our whole understanding of charity, and the need to protect the "least of these" can be traced to inspiration through the spread of this gospel to the world.  The concept of holiness and compassion cannot be swept away by those who would admire sheer material power and manipulation, because there are consequences to the world should we lose these precious things.  Perhaps along with the loss of such values comes a more hostile society, one in which we forget that even our opponents are human beings, one which neglects day-to-day compassion in favor of slogans that have not produced a kinder or better society by any social measure we can construct.  When even justice is reduced to a concept that benefits a select group even as it hurts others, then we have lost truth in favor of lies and manipulation.  When our sense of justice is corrupted to the point that personal conscience is rejected in favor of goig along with the crowd, then we ourselves have lost the value of our soul.   When we lose the humility He teaches, then we are in danger indeed of our own arrogance and where it leads us.  One might suggest here that we can witness this kind of "post-Christian" society in varied examples from the past century, and that we should take them to heart as examples.  Let us consider what we lose when we disparage His words and lose the presence of this Kingdom among us.  Let us hear His words and carry His kingdom into the world, within us and among us, the gospel message alive through living our faith.