The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today resonate with our Baptismal anointing to preach the Love of God to the people on our path and, if necessary, use words.
In the reading from the Prophet Nehemiah, Ezra reads the Law.
* [8:1–18] Chronologically this belongs after Ezr 8:36. The gloss mentioning Nehemiah in Neh 8:9 was inserted in this Ezra section after the dislocation of several parts of Ezra-Nehemiah had occurred. There is no clear evidence of a simultaneous presence of Nehemiah and Ezra in Jerusalem; Neh 12:26, 36 are also scribal glosses. (Nehemiah, CHAPTER 8, n.d.)
Psalm 19 praises God’s Glory in Creation and the Law.
* [Psalm 19] The heavenly elements of the world, now beautifully arranged, bespeak the power and wisdom of their creator (Ps 19:2–7). The creator’s wisdom is available to human beings in the law (Ps 19:8–11), toward which the psalmist prays to be open (Ps 19:12–14). The themes of light and speech unify the poem. (Psalms, PSALM 19, n.d.)
In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus commissions 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.
* [10:1] Seventy[-two]: important representatives of the Alexandrian and Caesarean text types read “seventy,” while other important Alexandrian texts and Western readings have “seventy-two.”
* [10:4] Carry no money bag…greet no one along the way: because of the urgency of the mission and the single mindedness required of missionaries, attachment to material possessions should be avoided and even customary greetings should not distract from the fulfillment of the task.
* [10:5] First say, ‘Peace to this household’: see notes on Lk 2:14 and Mt 10:13.
* [10:6] A peaceful person: literally, “a son of peace.” (Luke, CHAPTER 10, n.d.)
Carol Zuegner comments that peace is the theme of the gospel as Luke relates the story of Jesus sending out the 72 to spread his word. It won’t be easy. Not a lot of joy there as he compares them to the lambs among the wolves. We each carry the message of the gospel to the world by our actions and our example.
How do I bring a message of joy and peace to those around me – my family, my colleagues, the people I meet every day? I sometimes feel like a lamb among the wolves in the choices I am struggle with and whether I live out the gospel. I pray today that I can find the joy in my relationship with God and the world and live out that joy and peace in my life. (Zuegner, 2023)
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 Nehemiah 8:1-12 notes what a great grace it is when the Spirit reveals our failings to us! Though it might sadden us at first, it means that we don’t have to be stuck in our old ways. By repenting and receiving God’s mercy, we are able to rediscover our identity as members of his special people: as sons and daughters who can live in the freedom that Christ won for us.
This is why we need to make repentance a regular part of our time with the Lord each day. It’s also why the Sacrament of Reconciliation is so important. When we ask God to move in our hearts so that we can see where we have strayed, he will show us. And when we repent and experience his mercy, what joy we will feel! That joy will be the source of our strength (Nehemiah 8:10)—the strength we need to face our sin and turn to our merciful God each and every day!
“Father, today I repent of _______. Help me to rejoice today in your unfailing mercy.” (Meditation on Nehemiah 8:1-12, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler comments on the transformation initiated as Nehemiah and Ezra proclaim the Law to the people gathered in Jerusalem for a festival. In Luke, Seventy Two disciples, the number of the elders in the camp of Israel, are sent as sheeps among wolves to acceptance and rejection. Friar Jude reminds us to do our best and leave the results in God's hands.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces Lutheran minister and public theologian Nadia Bolz-Weber who offers a sermon on the sacred nature of the human body. The woman with the bent back [Luke 13:10–17] has made her think a lot about the bodies of God’s children specifically. Our individual containers of the holy. These inconvenient and disappointing and majestic wonders of God that carry us through this life from womb to tomb.
All of this is to say that God saves you IN your body, not FROM your body. Your body is in the same form and substance as that which God chose to put on and walk among us as Jesus. Your body is holy and beautiful to God—your young, old, fit, fat, cis, queer, disabled, strong body. For after all, it is the human body in which God placed God’s image, the imago dei. God could have chosen to place the imago dei—the image of God—in the mountains, but instead she put it in our bodies. We might experience the awesomeness of God in the mountains … but we see the image of God in the human body in all its perfectly glorious diversity. (Rohr, 2023)
We contemplate our situation today and invite the Spirit to lead us to use our experience today to present the Presence of God to the people we encounter as we journey in the Way of the Mission of His disciples.
References
Luke, CHAPTER 10. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved October 5, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/10?
Meditation on Nehemiah 8:1-12. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved October 5, 2023, from https://wau.org/meditations/2023/10/05/799088/
Nehemiah, CHAPTER 8. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved October 5, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/nehemiah/8?1
Psalms, PSALM 19. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved October 5, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/19?8
Rohr, R. (2023, October 5). Our Bodies Are Wholly Holy — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved October 5, 2023, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/our-bodies-are-wholly-holy/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). The Kingdom of God Has Come near to You. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved October 5, 2023, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2023&date=oct5
Zuegner, C. (2023, October 5). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved October 5, 2023, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/100523.html
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