Last week’s lessons on discipleship continue in this Sunday’s gospel (Luke 10:1-12, 17-20), as Jesus gives us some principles of missiology.
Abundant harvest
Harvest is a common metaphor in the Old Testament for the messianic time of salvation and judgment (Amos 9:13-15; Psalm 125:5-6; Jeremiah 5:17). That it is abundant, meaning the entire humankind stands in need of salvation, is indicated by the symbolic sending of 72 other disciples. Beyond the boundaries of Israel, they were to be missionaries to what was then taken as the 72 pagan nations of the world. They were the forerunners of Jesus in all the places He himself intended to visit. The playing field of the mission of salvation is global, and the intention of the Lord of the harvest is universal.
Harvesting a crop may be a touch-and-go affair for many people due to the uncertainty of the environment and the weather. It is no better with the Lord’s harvest due to the scarcity of laborers. The magnitude of the mission makes clear the need for prayer. Ask the Father, “the master of the harvest, to send out laborers for His harvest.” Jesus’ admonition emphasizes that in the mission of evangelization indispensable is prayer (a favorite theme in St. Luke). It places up front the fact that amid all our human activities for the salvation of the world, it is God’s grace that brings it to fulfillment.
Bringers of peace
Jesus’ instructions to His disciples as they go to their mission is daunting. No money, no sack, no sandals —do not put your trust in material possessions. Your true wealth that gives you confidence and strength is the Lord who sent you. Do not greet anyone on the way—social amenities consume time; the urgency of the mission necessitates their omission (2 Kings 4:29). In the immediacy of the reign of God, one cannot be normal like before or like others. In the absolute priority of the kingdom of God to which Jesus totally committed His life, the value system of His followers cannot be otherwise.
It is “peace” that the disciples bring to every welcoming home; the laborers in the Lord’s harvest are bringers of the message of salvation in Jesus Christ. In Luke, the message of peace is consistently associated with the gift of salvation (1:79; 2:14, 29; 7:50; 8:48; 12:51; 19:38). Note the emphasis on the family dimension of sharing and receiving the faith. The disciples would be staying in the same house, not only in the simplicity of life but in the pedagogy of deepening the roots of the community of faith on the household level. And they would be eating the same food together with the locals in a new openness which has no more dietary restrictions. And the presence of God’s reign among the receptive people would be verified by the victory over sickness among them. However the ominous paradox lies in the unwelcoming places the disciples, sent like lambs among wolves, shall come upon. People have rejected Jesus, His messengers would also be thumbed down by some. But these antagonists shall face divine judgment; the notorious city of Sodom (Genesis 19:24-28), which did not get such chance to repent, would have it tolerably better than these people who had the chance but wasted it.
Alálaong bagá, with the coming of the kingdom of love and justice, of truth and
holiness, the reign of Satan must necessarily recede. The enemy who tries to
make deals against God’s people (Job 2:1ff; Zechariah 3:1ff) is finished
and fallen off the sky; Jesus’ disciples can no longer be really harmed by the
forces of evil, symbolized here by the snakes and scorpions (Genesis 3:1-14;
Numbers 21:6-9). With their meager gears and “homeliness,” the disciples
returned full of stories of their successes; they have cast out the evil
spirits of pain, ignorance and sickness. It is not in such sensational display
of power over demons, however, that Christians should rejoice, but in the
faithful work of bringing salvation and liberation to others. Working in the
harvest of the Lord means a single-hearted, daily, personal engagement at the
conversion of one’s surrounding, proclaiming the message of peace and firmly
exemplifying the reign of God. It is not what grabs the headlines that prove to
us what counts, but the fact that our names are written
in heaven.
Join me in meditating on the Word of God every Sunday, from 5 to 6 a.m. on DWIZ 882, or by audio streaming on www.dwiz882.com.