Reading
Luke 10:1-9
1 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. 2 He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. 3 Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. 4 Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road.
5 “When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ 6 If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will rest on them; if not, it will return to you. 7 Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house.
8 “When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is offered to you. 9 Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’
Comment
Jesus' invitation to pray to God to send laborers into his harvest (v. 2) indicates that God alone is qualified to confer this mandate, just as in his royal and messianic role Jesus bestows it on the seventy-two envoys. In some manuscripts the number of disciples is seventy, perhaps indicating the seventy elders appointed by Moses.
The image of the lambs in the midst of wolves refers to the hostility and dangers that the disciples will find during their mission. Traveling as a couple they will be able to support each other. Given the urgency of the task and the commitment required of the missionaries, the invitation is to avoid getting lost behind the material goods and the formalities of greetings along the way (v. 4). In the culture of that time, a person's greeting involved an elaborate ceremonial, with many formalities, such as sharing a meal or a long stop. The disciple must avoid attachment to earthly things and entertainment, always giving priority to missionary activity.
The words of Jesus are pervaded with an eschatological sense, attesting to the scarcity of time available. Those who bring the announcement of salvation travel at a brisk pace. The disciples will have to enter the houses (v. 5) and not preach in the synagogues. The message they bring is not enclosed in the fences of the formalized and sedentary religiosity of Pharisaic Judaism. The Church of Christ, as also attested by the Acts of the Apostles (cf. Acts 20:42; 5:20) takes its first steps as a prophetic and domestic assembly. The gospel enters in the daily and family life of those who receive it, the "children of peace" (v. 6).
The command to the disciples to eat what will be placed before them, indicates that any distinction between pure and impure foods is abolished. Sharing a meal is an expression of intimate friendship in the ancient world. By eating what will be offered to him, the true disciple "become all things to all people" just as the apostle Paul will later testify: "Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew [...] To those not having the law I became like one not having the law [...] To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some." (1 Cor 9:19-22).
Without the fear of clashing with the opposing forces of the world, the Gospel message is capable of adapting, "sitting at the table" with the man of every place and every time.
Prayer
Raise up, o Lord, willing workers in your Church, to bring the blessing of your message of salvation to every man. Amen.
- Rev Dr. Luca Vona
