God’s message is above all else a message of peace with justice and love.

 
Reading: After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. Luke 10:1.
 
Good morning, happy Monday, happy Day of Love and Friendship, and many blessings.
 
In today’s Gospel (Luke 10:1-9) Jesus sends 72 of his disciples out into the towns and villages that he intended to visit. These 72 disciples were to inform the people that he was coming. They were to prepare the way for him.

Jesus then gives the disciples instructions for this journey. He tells his disciples to pack lightly for the journey. They should not take any money, luggage, or sandals. Now ask yourself: can you imagine leaving on a trip without any money or credit cards? Jesus tells them they are to trust that God will provide for them. He is very clear to them: I am sending you like sheep among wolves, yet their message is always one of Peace and Love. I ask not to be deaf to the call of Jesus, trusting in his mission and bringing peace to wherever I am.

There is a tendency in life for many to take what they might need on a journey to cover many eventualities that could arise. Jesus sent out his disciples with the bare essentials from that point of view. The main factor was the Good news of the kingdom that they brought and the gift of healing.
 
God’s message is above all else a message of peace with justice and love. Doing God’s work can make me unpopular and cause me to be criticized but I am called to trust that God will take care of me. What do I carry with me every day, but do not truly need? I pray that I will listen to God’s call to bring peace and love to others and that I have the grace to respond to this call.
 
If I can place myself in this gospel, I may find that I am one of those “seventy others.” I am a follower of Jesus. I listen and look as I enter the challenge of this gospel scene. And I am sent out. I carry with me no resources, only a clear vision, my unique interior gifts, and an open heart.
In many parts of the world, I may be “like a lamb in the midst of wolves.” The expression of my faith is simply to say, “Peace to this house.” My desire is to heal the wounds of division among peoples. I cannot give up this vision of “the kingdom” if I wish to remain in this gospel scene among those “seventy others.”
 
I wonder how the disciples reacted to Jesus’ statement! Ask yourself: if you were sent on a journey and you were told to take nothing with you except the clothes on your back, how would you react? Personally, I would be tempted to pack a “little” bag just in case I needed something!
Today Jesus is sending us forth to preach the “Good News.”
 
Blessings,
 
Luis+