The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to contemplate our sense of experiencing the Divine in our relationships with others and the action we might be prompted to take to share our relationship to God with others.
The reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah proclaims blessings of prosperity and consolation from God.
* [66:10–16] The poet addresses the children born of Jerusalem, their mother. In v. 13 the metaphor switches to the Lord as mother (cf. 49:15), comforting her charges but destroying the enemies. (Isaiah, CHAPTER 66, n.d.)
Psalm 66 offers praise for God’s goodness to Israel.
* [Psalm 66] In the first part (Ps 66:1–12), the community praises God for powerful acts for Israel, both in the past (the exodus from Egypt and the entry into the land [Ps 66:6]) and in the present (deliverance from a recent but unspecified calamity [Ps 66:8–12]). In the second part (Ps 66:13–20), an individual from the rescued community fulfills a vow to offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving. As often in thanksgivings, the rescued person steps forward to teach the community what God has done (Ps 66:16–20). (Psalms, PSALM 66, n.d.)
The reading from the Letter of Paul to the Galatians is a final appeal concerning living as a new creation.
* [6:17] The marks of Jesus: slaves were often branded by marks (stigmata) burned into their flesh to show to whom they belonged; so also were devotees of pagan gods. Paul implies that instead of outdated circumcision, his body bears the scars of his apostolic labors (2 Cor 11:22–31), such as floggings (Acts 16:22; 2 Cor 11:25) and stonings (Acts 14:19), that mark him as belonging to the Christ who suffered (cf. Rom 6:3; 2 Cor 4:10; Col 1:24) and will protect his own. (Galatians, CHAPTER 6, n.d.)
The Gospel of Luke describes the Mission of the Seventy.
* [10:1–12] Only the Gospel of Luke contains two episodes in which Jesus sends out his followers on a mission: the first (Lk 9:1–6) is based on the mission in Mk 6:6b–13 and recounts the sending out of the Twelve; here in Lk 10:1–12 a similar report based on Q becomes the sending out of seventy-two in this gospel. The episode continues the theme of Jesus preparing witnesses to himself and his ministry. These witnesses include not only the Twelve but also the seventy-two who may represent the Christian mission in Luke’s own day. Note that the instructions given to the Twelve and to the seventy-two are similar and that what is said to the seventy-two in Lk 10:4 is directed to the Twelve in Lk 22:35. (Luke, CHAPTER 10, n.d.)
Larry Hopp comments that In the four Gospels, just prior to his ascension Jesus directed his disciples to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. They are told to teach them to obey everything Jesus had commanded them, and further that they are “to go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.” They are to “feed my sheep.” Throughout these commissions, Jesus promised that the disciples would be “clothed with power from on high” and that surely, He will be with them always to the very end of the age.
Seems pretty clear, it is obvious that God is in complete control. He has given us a noble commission. No matter the challenges and obstacles found in each of our lives, as laborers for God, we have a job to do - to proclaim the good news and the fact that the kingdom of God is indeed at hand. We must urgently pursue this directive with unquenchable power from our almighty God!
Dear Heavenly Father, help us never to forget the commission given to each of us to live our lives as you have ordained. Help us to effectively reach our hurting world with the good news of Jesus and the message that the Kingdom of God is truly at hand. We pray this with the blessed assurance of your daily guidance and power.
In Jesus’ holy, holy name. Amen (Hopp, n.d.)
Don Schwager quotes “Jesus the Good Shepherd changes wolves into sheep,” by Cyril of Alexandria (376-444 AD)
"How then does [Jesus] command the holy apostles, who are innocent men and 'sheep,' to seek the company of wolves, and go to them of their own will? Is not the danger apparent? Are they not set up as ready prey for their attacks? How can a sheep prevail over a wolf? How can one so peaceful conquer the savageness of beasts of prey? 'Yes,' he says, 'for they all have me as their Shepherd: small and great, people and princes, teachers and students. I will be with you, help you, and deliver you from all evil. I will tame the savage beasts. I will change wolves into sheep, and I will make the persecutors become the helpers of the persecuted. I will make those who wrong my ministers to be sharers in their pious designs. I make and unmake all things, and nothing can resist my will.'" (excerpt from COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 61) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on Luke 10:1-12, 17-20 comments that we are part of a two thousand-year long line of men and women whom Jesus has empowered to announce the good news. Our spiritual lineage includes great saints like Francis of Assisi and Mother Teresa of Calcutta, but it also includes millions upon millions of unknown saints who have pushed back the darkness of the devil.
Every time you forgive someone, you are snuffing out another fiery dart from the “accuser of our brothers” (Revelation 12:10). Every time you reach out to give generously of your time or resources to someone who is hurting, you are disarming the one who is a “thief” and whose only goal is to “destroy” (John 10:10). Every time you share the truth about God’s love, you are silencing the “father of lies” (8:44). Bit by bit, step-by-step, you are contributing to the devil’s ultimate defeat. Yes, you! Clothed with the authority of Christ, you can overcome even the devil. “All praise to you, Jesus, for letting me share in your victory over the evil one!” (Meditation on Luke 10:1-12, 17-20, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler comments that the author of Trito-Isaiah, after the return from Exile, uses the desperate situation to remind the people of God’s action to be a comforting Mother. The “stigmata” in Galatians probably refers to the scars on Paul from his stoning and beatings. Friar Jude Winkler cites the life of Charles de Foucauld to encourage perseverance as we realize that we do not measure success in an earthly way.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, views community and connectedness as central to the Christian life and intrinsic to Reality itself.
We come to know who God is through exchanges of mutual knowing and loving. God’s basic method of communicating God’s self is not the “saved” individual, the rightly informed believer, or even a person with a career in ministry. God communicates primarily through the journey and bonding process that God initiates in community: in marriages, friendships, families, tribes, nations, schools, organizations, and churches who are seeking to participate in God’s love, maybe without even consciously knowing it.
Thomas Merton wrote, “The Christian is not merely ‘alone with the Alone’ in the Neoplatonic sense, but [is] One with all ‘brothers and sisters in Christ.’ The Christian’s inner self is, in fact, inseparable from Christ and hence it is in a mysterious and unique way inseparable from all the other ‘I’s’ who live in Christ, so that they all form one ‘Mystical Person,’ which is ‘Christ.’” [1] (Rohr, 2022)
Our mission is to be active in building a community that becomes the fertile ground for the Spirit to draw people to closer relationships with Christ.
References
Galatians, CHAPTER 6. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved July 3, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/galatians/6?14
Hopp, L. (n.d.). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved July 3, 2022, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/070322.html
Isaiah, CHAPTER 66. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved July 3, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/isaiah/66?10
Luke, CHAPTER 10. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved July 3, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/10?1
Meditation on Luke 10:1-12, 17-20. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved July 3, 2022, from https://wau.org/meditations/2022/07/03/429912/
Psalms, PSALM 66. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved July 3, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/66?1
Rohr, R. (2022, July 3). Reality as Communion — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved July 3, 2022, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/reality-as-communion-2022-07-03/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved July 3, 2022, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2022&date=jul3
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