READINGS:   Isaiah 66: 10-14   /   Psalm 66: 1-3. 4-5. 6-7. 16. 20   /   Galatians 6: 14-18   /

LUKE 10: 1-12. 17-20

HIS WORD… BEHOLD, I AM SENDING YOU LIKE LAMBS AMONG WOLVES… 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… NEVERTHELESS, DO NOT REJOICE BECAUSE THE SPIRITS ARE SUBJECT TO YOU, BUT REJOICE BECAUSE YOUR NAMES ARE WRITTEN IN HEAVEN…

my words…In the gospels, Jesus had taught a lot to His Apostles and disciples. In today’s Gospel, Jesus emphasized the need “to walk the talk.” So to have a wider coverage of the “walking” or mission, Jesus had expanded the 12 six (6) times; that was why Jesus had appointed 72 others for the mission with the instructions of utter SIMPLICITY of lifestyle and total trust in God in bringing the gift of PEACE to every neighborhood.

Brothers and Sisters, by our Christian baptisms we become partakers of the mission of the disciples, the mission of bringing PEACE to our households and neighbors. But what is the harvest of the Master all about? The vineyard of the Lord is the whole wide world (www.com); and the harvests are the people who long for Him. That is why the message of PEACE that should become the opening remark of every mission should also be identified with the peace of Christ; not only the “pax” but the “shalom” of Jesus; a peace that penetrates into every heart, a peace that is within us, a peace that brings the holy presence of Jesus into our lives. “Into whatever house you enter, first say, “Peace (be) to this household. If a peaceful (peaceable) person lives there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you…” (Lk 10:5-6). The peace of Jesus is a gift to us. Let us therefore behold it… Let us nourish it!

Brothers and Sisters, our present generation is intensely immersed in the culture of the multimedia communications. With almost everything and anything available at an instant, simplicity has increasingly become “a pie in the sky” for the young of today. With their gadgets alone, they are now loaded with sophistications, complications, and complexities. Thanks to the internet connections! They facilitate the complexities of the modern world. And yet the Church is not left behind; she exhorts and allows these modern gadgets of communications as means and facilities of EVANGELIZATION. In short, in the culture of the new age, the proclamation of the Good News continues…

The second part of today’s gospel is all about the accomplishment reports of the 72. And Jesus observed “Satan fall like lightning from the sky” (Lk 10:18). Yes, Christian life is a constant warfare between the good and the bad, between Jesus “our God” and Satan “the disturber of life.” In the Ignatian way, it is also called the Encounter of the Two Standards; the Standard of Christ and the standard of Satan. And every time we are on the side of Jesus, when we are on His camp, Satan is immensely defeated. So let us always be strong in the warfare of the Lord in His vineyard. Let us continue proclaiming His message of PEACE to all humanity. Because if we keep ourselves always victorious on the side of Jesus and with Jesus always in us, then, our “names will also be written in heaven” (Lk 10:20).

LET US THEN BE MISSIONARIES AND INSTRUMENTS OF HIS PEACE IN THE MODERN WORLD TODAY… (By Fr. Julius C. Lupot)