FOURTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR C
Commentary of Fr. Fernando Armellini
Good Sunday to all.
In last week's Gospel, we heard the answer that Jesus gave to that person who had come forward, saying that he was willing to do anything to follow Jesus. Jesus told him clearly that he did not have even a stone to lay his head on, and 'neither will you have an easy life because you will not have a nest to retire to and live in peace. The one who wants to be my disciple must be available to realize my project of a new world and always available to collaborate in its realization. Therefore, my proposal is not for indolent, lazy people.'
In the text of today's Gospel, we see that Jesus immediately entrusts a mission to fulfill to those following him. Let's listen:
"After this, the Lord appointed seventy-two others he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit.”
Who are these 72 who appear suddenly in Luke's Gospel? No one has spoken of them before, and very soon, no one will remember them again. The evangelist does not want to give us any information. To understand the message, we must interpret the symbolic message of the numbers in the Bible. The number 72 indicates all the nations of the earth. There was Israel and then 72 pagan nations that constituted the whole of humankind. The number 72 is the result of 6 times 12. The number 6 symbolizes imperfection; it is still one short of seven. If we add these six times 12 to the 12 tribes of Israel, we have the number 7, which indicates perfection, totality, and infinity.
The evangelist wants to tell us that God's design for the world will be realized when all the nations of the earth, first Israel, but then all the other nations, will have heard and accepted the Gospel. In Luke's Gospel, the Twelve have already been sent out to the twelve tribes of Israel. And now these 72 are sent to all the peoples of the world.
The second message is as follows: These 72 do not belong to the group of the Twelve Apostles; they are simple disciples –laypeople, we would say today–. The mission is to take the Gospel to the world and to reach all peoples with this design of salvation, which is not entrusted to the hierarchy, to the clergy, but to all the baptized. Every baptized person should feel responsible for this mission.
The third message: What do they have to do? The text says that Jesus sent them ahead. The Greek text says again: πρὸ προσώπου αὐτοῦ = pro prosopou autou = ahead of his face. They are sent to prepare the people to receive this new man's face, the face of Jesus of Nazareth, the beautiful face, the face of the Son of God. Therefore, it is not a question of presenting themselves but of preparing the people to receive Christ and the Gospel.
Fourth message: He sends them two by two. The proclamation of the Gospel is the responsibility of a community; it is not a personal initiative. The one who announces the Gospel must feel part of a community. And to form a community, there must be at least two of them. Interestingly, in the primitive Church, the disciples would always announce the Gospel in pairs: Peter and John go to Samaria; Paul and Barnabas leave for the first journey; Paul and Silvanus leave for the second. And these two, this community, must feel part of the universal Church, sent by the Church.
Let us now listen to what the inner disposition must be with which these envoys shall fulfill the task that Jesus has entrusted to them:
“He said to them, ‘The harvest is abundant, but the laborers are few, so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest. Go on your way; behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves.’”
To make each disciple understand the mission entrusted to them, Jesus uses the harvest image. The farmer rejoices in front of the field and sees that the grain is ripe. It is Jesus's invitation to see humanity as God sees it. That is, ready to receive the Gospel and accept Christ. It is the invitation to put an end once and for all to certain expressions that we hear repeated by many Christians: ‘It is useless to announce the Gospel' ... 'no one pays attention' ... 'people are on something else.' If you are a convinced disciple, you will see this humanity as Jesus sees it: mature, ready to receive the Gospel because it is programmed for this. "The laborers are few." And it is true. There are few of the baptized who are aware that they are called to be apostles.
What can be done to increase the number of these workers? Pray to the Master of the harvest. It is not a question of convincing God to do what He must do, for He is more interested than we are in this humanity. Fortunately, prayer does not change God; it changes the one who prays. If I was lazy before, I was not conscious of the task I was called to perform, then I pray to become attuned to God's thinking, and you see this humanity waiting for the announcement you are called to make.
The prayer is for the Lord to send forth laborers. The Greek verb used is ἐκβάλῃ = exbale = to cast out... Cast out of what? These Christians who settle in their laziness, it is their discouragement, must be 'cast out,' they must be uprooted from their fears and even from the lack of esteem they have for themselves. How often do we hear Christians say, 'I'm not made to go and evangelize' - 'I try to do what I can,' no. Prayer takes you out of this pusillanimity; it frees you from the modesty to present yourself as a believer in a society where the proposal made by Christ is not fashionable.
What should these envoys expect? How will they be received? Jesus says: 'Be aware that you are sent into a world of wolves.’ Sometimes, people lament and say: 'We find ourselves in a society regulated by hedonism, by the pursuit of pleasure, which is the only goal for so many people. The society is violent, aggressive; there is no respect ….’ What did you expect? Jesus had already told you that they were sent as sheep among wolves.
The wolf symbolizes violence and arrogance, the logic that rules the old world, that of competition, where the stronger, the more skillful prevails, and the weaker is subjugated and torn to pieces. This is the world where you are sent. If it were already a redeemed world, there would be no need to go and proclaim the Gospel to redeem it, but if you do not proclaim the Gospel, this world will always remain a world of wolves. And in this world, you enter as a lamb, knowing what fate awaits you, the same as the Master.
The lamb alludes to humility, weakness, and frailty, and no one takes his life; the lamb gives life, is a builder of a world of peace, a world where there is no competition, where there is gratuitous love, even for the enemies, even for those who do you wrong. Therefore, these disciples will have to be attentive because the feelings and behaviors of wolves may re-emerge in them: anger, resentment, the will to prevail, to be seen... and we know that this has happened in the history of the Church. Sometimes, reasonings appear that tell you that to behave like wolves works. Maybe immediately it does, but you don't build the new world.
Pope Gregory the Great has a beautiful reflection on the fact that Jesus sends two by two. Why did he send them two by two? Because they are brothers, they are not friends. Friends we choose, but brothers are those who are given to us. And they may be more or less friendly. You can't go into the world by yourself; you must go in pairs because if you go into the world in pairs, being very different, even arguing, but continuing to love each other, then they give the sign that the angelic community has come into the world, who love each other well, although they have a different mentality.
And now, Jesus clarifies how these envoys should present themselves to the people. Let us listen:
“Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals; and greet no one along the way. 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. Stay in the same house and eat and drink what is offered to you, for the laborer deserves his payment. Do not move about from one house to another.”
In the old world, where the norm accepted by all was competition, the skillful and the strong could accumulate goods and possessions. This is not possible in the new world because the norm is sharing. When one has goods and sees a brother in need, even if he is an enemy, he helps him. That is why Jesus says, ‘He who belongs to the new world and enters this world of wolves cannot present himself with a money bag.’ What was it for? At that time, there were no pockets; the money was carried in a bag and then tied to the belt.
The disciple cannot appear with the money bag because you cannot have the money you have accumulated; if you have accrued goods, you have been a wolf, not a lamb. And even if it's for the Gospel, nobody will believe you if you have a money bag because you still belong to the old world of accumulation. You can't have a sack. The sack is where you put your bread because you must be content with your daily bread; if you have bread in your sack, it means that you have not been attentive to those who were hungry because you should have given it.
Sandals: 'Do not wear sandals.' The Greek verb used is important: βαστάζετε = bastásete; it does not mean to wear sandals; you must put on sandals because those who went barefoot were the prisoners, the mourners. And the slaves, no. You are a normal person; you wear sandals, but not to wear sandals, 'βαστάζετε' means carry a bag; you can't have a spare pair because if you show up with an extra pair of sandals, it means that you were not attentive to those who didn't have sandals, and you should have delivered them.
We are in front of a paradoxical language, but the message is clear and highly relevant. Jesus invites us to review certain behaviors of Christians and specific ecclesiastical structures, which must be reduced to what is essential and what is indispensable. We know well that specific enormous structures that symbolize wealth and power constitute a scandal and a counter testimony. The only treasure with which the disciple presents himself is that of the Gospel message that he announces. It is not an ideology that he must impose; it is a proposal of life, and the Church, as we know, loses credibility when it wants to compete with the political and economic powers.
Then Jesus says that these disciples, these apostles, should not stop to greet anyone. Let's not take it literally; here, Jesus intends to underline the urgency of the mission; there is no time to waste on useless gossip and trifles. Then, 'when you enter a house.' These are two environments into which the disciple enters to carry the Gospel: the house and then the city. When you enter a house, you first say, 'I have come to bring you peace.' The house indicates the family context, where you must bring peace, the new world, the sharing, and the Gospel. But the house also indicates the intimacy of each person, not only the walls.
When I let someone into my life, that person enters my house; similarly, the Gospel asks for hospitality in each person's heart. What should you proclaim, you who carry the Gospel? Be careful because the unbelievers have reduced the Gospel to some correct moral propositions. Some choices are morally challenging, but the main message is joy, the message of peace. Many people sometimes say, 'I have no peace,' and it's true. Maybe they are in a particular moment of discouragement because they have made serious mistakes. ‘I have no peace because I have led a life of compromise; I have committed injustice; I have obtained wealth and success by any evil means.' 'I have no peace.'
The herald of the Gospel does not come with reproaches. 'I have come to bring you joy and peace.' However, this peace must be accepted. If there is a child of peace, your peace will descend upon him if he is prepared to accept this deliverance from all that is not love in his heart, and peace will come into this family. Otherwise, it will 'return to you'; it is not a rejection of those not yet ready to accept it; it returns to you so that you may propose it again.
"Stay in the same house and eat and drink what is offered to you” for the laborer, he who proclaims the Gospel is working, and this is very demanding. Paul, who has this work, calls it 'kopós,' a strenuous work; he is entitled to life's necessities.
Jesus says that the apostle can accept the invitation given to him. Those who have accepted the Gospel may invite you to come to their house and sit at their table. Be content with the frugal food set before you; adapt yourself to the manners and customs of your host without looking askance at their habits and traditions. This message was very timely in Luke's time because the Jews, for example –and even today– have scruples about food. For the Christian, all creatures are blessed by God; they are works of the Creator; there are no impure creatures and, of course, no impure and pure people. All are sons and daughters of God. The Christian invited to take the food of someone grateful for the announcement he has received should not pay attention to these distinctions; he accepts what is offered.
Then, "Do not move about from one house to another.” What does it mean? The temptation is that the apostle can find a lodging more and more comfortable; that is, he adapts himself at first to what he sees, which may be an improvised lodging, but then you're offered a better environment. You end up getting to the palaces. Jesus says, 'Stay in the first house, which certainly has more complicated and difficult conditions.' You can be welcomed with kindness, but you can also be rejected. Jesus tells us how we should behave. When the apostles are rejected, they are expelled from a house. Let us listen:
“Whatever town you enter, and they welcome you, eat what is set before you, cure the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God is at hand for you.’ Whatever town you enter and they do not receive you, go out into the streets and say, ‘The dust of your town that clings to our feet, even that we shake off against you.’ Yet know this: the kingdom of God is at hand. I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom on that day than for that town.”
The disciples sent to proclaim the Gospel in the homes, that is, in the private sphere, will proclaim it to individuals and create new people: people who think differently, speak in a new way, and practice their profession in a new way. He will proclaim it to the families; new families will be born where love, harmony, and fidelity reign, where there will be no more disputes over inheritance. But it shall not be proclaimed only in the homes or private sphere. It must be proclaimed in the city, in public places. This means that the Gospel must transform individuals, but it must also change the whole society.
If the society was that of the wolves tearing each other apart, building bombs to put themselves in a position of strength concerning others, now the logic of the Gospel, which is love, must enter society. The wolves must be transformed into lambs. It can also happen that by proclaiming the Gospel to the whole society, some will accept it, and others will reject it; that is, the old society will want to follow the logic of Cain, the logic of the wolves. What should the disciple who proclaims the Gospel in the city and wants to change the world do?
The first hypothesis is that the message is received. Jesus says: 'Eat what is offered to you,' that is, sit at the table to the banquet. This means harmonizing with the societies they want to announce the Gospel. They should not have ideological, cultural, political, or religious prejudices. Adapt and respect local customs and the cultures of each people. This means eating what is offered to them. When one sits at the table, it means that there is harmony and respect.
Then, “take care of the sick that are there.” It is beautiful that the Greek verb θεραπεύετε = therapeutic is used; it doesn't mean showing up and showing that you know how to do miracles by substituting for doctors; no, nothing like that. Take care of the sick and the weak, and do it joyfully. The Church has done very well in this regard. We all know very well the saints of charity, and even today, where there are situations of hardship, we know that without making noise or being seen, some announce and practice the Gospel.
But it can also happen that it is rejected, that the old society wants to continue as usual, with the logic of the wolves. What should you do? Shake off the dust from your feet and tell these people we have nothing to do with you. Let's be careful to understand these words of Jesus well because if taken literally, they contradict everything else in the Gospel. Think only of Jesus's reaction to James and John, who wanted to rain fire from heaven on the Samaritans.
What does it mean to shake the dust off your feet? The Jews, when they left the land of Israel and went to pagan lands when they returned, did not want to contaminate the holy land with the dust of the pagan land, so they shook off all this dust from their feet. Jesus wants to say that when they relate to a society still governed by the old logic of competition and they are rejected, be careful that nothing of the pagan reasoning with which you have entered into dialogue sticks.
It means that dialogue does not mean accepting agreements and renouncing one's identity as a believer. Sometimes, to be sympathetic, to show that one is up to date, the Christian may be tempted to make the Gospel lose its flavor to make it more acceptable to the recipients. The Gospel must remain pure; it does not mean that if I reject the dust of pagan logic, that I reject the pagans, that I reject the recipients of the Gospel. Jesus says: "Yet know this: the kingdom of God is at hand.” Therefore, to shake off the dust from your feet does not mean the people's rejection but only the dust of logic, which is that of the old world.
Then, the final threat: Tell the people, "It will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you.” What does this mean? It is the crude language that Semitic preachers often use. It wants to indicate only one thing: the great responsibility of those who reject the Gospel. They are ruined as Sidon was devastated when they rejected the angels who had sent them. A society that rejects the Gospel will remain a society of wolves and, therefore, harm itself. This is what is meant by the image of Sidon.
Let us now hear what the result of the disciples who were sent on a mission was:
“The seventy-two returned rejoicing and said, ‘Lord, even the demons are subject to us because of your name.’ Jesus said, ‘I have observed Satan fall like lightning from the sky. Behold, I have given you the power ‘to tread upon serpents’ and scorpions and the full force of the enemy, and nothing will harm you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice because your names are written in heaven.’”
The disciples who have fulfilled their mission return to Jesus full of joy. Joy is always the sign of the presence of God; they have fulfilled their mission well, and they are surprised; they say to Jesus: ‘We have seen that before the proclamation of your Gospel, the demons have begun to retreat, to be defeated.' And Jesus confirms his impression: “I have observed Satan fall like lightning from the sky.”
What do these images used by the disciples and Jesus mean, demons, Satan? They are those who rule the old world and create the society of wolves before the proclamation of the Gospel. Who are these demons? They are the idols that ruled the world; they are the ones that led the old society. Who drives the old world? Money, attachment to goods, career success, visibility, dominance over others. These are the demons that created the old society.
When the Gospel comes, these demons are doomed to defeat. We think that these demons will always rule the world; it is not true; the proclamation of the Gospel–and these faithful disciples have experienced it–the proclamation of the Gospel is stronger. Many times, we Christians do not have the certainty; we do not have this faith that the word of the Master changes hearts and changes society. It is an unstoppable victory.
A biblical image is used: “I have given you the power ‘to tread upon serpents’ and scorpions and upon the full force of the enemy, and nothing will harm you.” Let us note that it does not say that he has eliminated the encounter with dangerous animals from the disciples' path, no. These demons are always dangerous, and we must continue to confront them. Jesus says: 'You may walk among these dangerous beasts, but you will not fall prey to them.' Jesus does not promise an easy life but a victorious life if we have faith in the power of the Gospel we proclaim.
Who are these serpents and scorpions? Let us remember Psalm 91, which we all know: “For he commands his angels about you, to guard you wherever you go. They shall support you with their hands lest you strike your foot against a stone. You can tread upon the asp and the viper, trample the lion and the dragon.” These are images to say that the disciple should not fear; at his side is the Lord and the power of the Gospel. These envoys will encounter opposition. The dangerous animals will be there, but the disciples will trample them, not the people but the logic of the old world. These are the enemies: attachment to possessions, to money, to career... these are the enemies of the Gospel.
So, these words of Jesus sound like a condemnation of all pessimism; they deny all those who only grieve and repeat disconsolately: 'The world will go from bad to worse.' It is not true that those who say these things do not believe in the power of the Gospel. Jesus promised that he who proclaims the Gospel will witness these radical changes in the old world; he will see the new world being born.
I wish you all a good Sunday and a good week.
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