1st Reading – Isaiah 66:10-14c
The prophets of Israel were not merely men who predicted future events. They were the religious leaders and teachers of the Israelites. They themselves regarded their mission in this light. They wished, above all, to be “men of God,” and to bring God to their people and their people to God. The Hebrew word for prophet, nabi, bears out this interpretation; it means “speaker”: One who speaks God’s words. According to Deuteronomy 18:16, a prophet is one who is raised up to take the place of God as regards the people. In other places he is called the messenger, the servant, the interpreter of God, and also “one who stands in the counsel of God.”
Today we hear the words of the greatest of the Old Covenant prophets – Isaiah; greatness being determined by the length of his recorded works. In this reading Isaiah speaks of the final judgment and the purified and joyful Jerusalem. All children of God nurse at the breast of Jerusalem – an image that beautifully portrays universal peace, contentment, and love. Slowly the image changes and God takes the place of Jerusalem – fondling, comforting, and nursing His children.
2nd Reading – Galatians 6:14-18
Judaizing preachers from Jerusalem had raised havoc in the various new Christian congregations which Paul had founded. For the most part these communities were composed of converts from paganism. The Judaizers had succeeded in seducing many leading members of the Galatian community to submit to circumcision and other Jewish rites. These false teachers succeeded all the more easily because uncircumcised Christians were persecuted by Pagans and Jews alike, whereas the circumcised, being regarded as Jews, enjoyed comparative peace. Besides, they made the Galatian Christians believe that the observance of the Mosaic Law was something very pleasing to God. After all, who was Paul? He had not lived with Jesus, had not enjoyed the privilege of His teaching, but had taken up the preaching of the Gospel long after Jesus’ death.
Paul responded in about A.D. 54 with his epistle to the Galatians. Today we hear the conclusion of this writing.
Gospel – Luke 10:1-12,17-20
Last week we heard of the cost of discipleship and how one must constantly keep their eye on the goal and not look back. Today we hear of the mission of the 72.
{Hearing the gospel today is like sitting in on a very important business meeting. It seems we are listening to a sales manager giving orders to his staff as they get ready to set out on a new sales campaign. Actually, it is Jesus preparing His staff of seventy-two for their first great missionary journey – a kind of sales job. His instructions, practical and specific, would be a good program for any endeavor:
- Stay focused on the project at hand; allow no distractions.
- Remember, you do not work alone; God is with you.
- Pray and trust in God’s help.
- Stay alert at all times. Pay attention.
- Value your product, because it is important.
- Carefully discern when it is time to speak, time to be still.
- If people are closed to you, you are wasting your time; move on.
- Even then, leave a seed behind to take root and bear fruit later.
- Remember, Christ will do the follow-up work; you prepare the way
- Pray for more workers; that’s an essential part of the plan.}
Good sales manager that He is, Jesus also provides His workers with some information about the competition. There will be “snakes and scorpions,” he warns them, using imaginative language to picture the obstacles they will have to overcome. Because He has prepared them so well, however, they have nothing to fear from any competitor. His sales crew is ready for the challenge.
In one way or another, aren’t we all members of Jesus’ sales crew? Haven’t we all been commissioned to “sell” the Good News to others? By word and example, by attitudes and behavior, aren’t we continually telling the world about our “product”? Let’s look again at Jesus’ instructions; they might be exactly what we need to be successful at home, in volunteer work, in our parish, and at our jobs. It’s worth a try. (Taken from Bible & Liturgy Sunday Bulletin, The Liturgical Press, 1995)
