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Gospel: Luke 10: 1-12
Jesus appointed seventy-two other disciples
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 Gospel of the Lord.
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Today’s Gospel presents a model for discipleship that our parish is learning how to follow, but there’s always more to be done.
Jesus appoints seventy-two disciples, in addition to the Twelve Apostles, and he sends them out to heal the sick, to cast out demons, even to raise people from the dead.
After they’re sent out, the disciples return. They gather with Jesus and with one another to pray, to “break bread,” and to share their experience in ministry.
It’s this action of returning that is essential.
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So many of you go out on mission.
You’re sent to bring communion to the homebound; you visit the sick; you prepare food for the hungry; you teach in our faith formation program; you’re on staff, the parish pastoral or finance council; you’re involved in planning a variety of parish activities.
Like the disciples, you go out.
But now we must develop a culture of return.
Meaning, we return to pray for one another, to “break bread,” and to share our experience of working in the Lord’s vineyard.
We did this recently with members of our Outreach Ministry. We held a prayer service with Eucharistic Adoration, faith-sharing, and fellowship to follow. This is a practice that should continue for all ministries.
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The second-step is witnessing. This is how the Gospel message began spreading to the ends of the earth – and it’s how our parish will continue to grow.
I’m encouraging parishioners to speak about their experience in ministry at the conclusion of Sunday Mass. It should be “normal” to hear from our fellow workers in the vineyard. Faith sharing breaks down walls and inspires others to get involved.
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“The harvest is abundant,” Jesus says, “but the laborers are few.”
Two ways we will increase the number of laborers are to: develop a culture of “return” and to normalize faith sharing at Mass. So, if you were asked to speak about your ministry involvement and faith at Mass or in public, would you do it?
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Image credits: (1) CrossPointe Church, Tyler, TX (2) Your Daily Inspiration, Tumblr (3) St. John’s University