Gospel Reflection July 7 – Deacon Paul
Sunday, July 7
Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Luke 10: 1-2, 17-20
Gospel:
At that time the Lord appointed seventy-two others
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 seventy-two returned rejoicing, and said,
“Lord, even the demons are subject to us because of your name.”
Jesus said, “I have observed Satan fall like lightning from the sky.
Behold, I have given you the power to ‘tread upon serpents’ and scorpions
and upon the full force of the enemy and nothing will harm you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you,
but rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”
Reflection:
The way our Spring weather was this year, with all the rain, I’m guessing the farmers were wondering if they would ever get their crops in the fields. Hopefully, they are in a better position today so they can reap a great crop at harvest time.
In the Bible we hear of another harvest. This is called the harvest of the Lord, and the Lord’s harvest is a spiritual one. In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us that “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.” Well, much like the 72 of Jesus’ day, today the Church is also looking for those Laborers to bring in the Abundant Harvest.
Who are these Laborers that Jesus is speaking about? They are you and me! Though none of us starts out as laborers in the harvest of Christ’s kingdom, when God plants seeds of His Word into us, and with the watering of His Spirit and the warmth of His love, those seeds begin to grow. As we grow in God, we become His laborers. We go forth in God and work in the world doing good by showing God to others who do not know Him. We do this by opening up our loving arms to bring cheer to a sad heart. We listen when someone needs to talk about a problem. We share our experience of God in our life and the relationship we have with Him.
And so, friends, are we laborers for Christ Jesus? God is calling us to work in the field for there is a ripe harvest awaiting to reap for God’s kingdom.
Deacon Paul Zemanek