IVXth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

IVXth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

IS 66:10-14,: GAL. 6:14-18,Gosple: LUKE 10: 1-12, 17-20

The story of St. Philip Neri, who earned the title “Apostle of Rome” in the 16th century, is an example of missionary zeal demanded by today’s gospel. Philip came down to Rome in the early 1500s as an immigrant from Florence and a layman. When he arrived, he was horrified by the physical and moral devastation of the city. Rome had been sacked in 1527 by the Germans who had left much of the city shell-shocked and ruined. The Gospel wasn’t being preached, and many priests and cardinals were living in open defiance of Christ’s moral teachings. Philip prayed to God to learn what he might do. He read the letters that St. Francis Xavier had sent back to Europe from India, where he had been converting tens of thousands, and Philip thought that God was calling him to follow Francis to India, to give his life in proclaiming the Gospel. He went to his spiritual director and told him what he thought God was asking of him. The wise old priest affirmed his desire to serve and bear witness to Christ, but told him to focus his attention on re-evangelizing those around him: “Rome is to be your India!” This was quite a task for one man. But Philip, relying on God’s help, started — first as a layman, then as a priest — to convert Rome, one person at a time. He would cheerfully go to street corners and say, “Friends, when are we going to start to do good?” He developed various entertaining social and religious activities to give the people, especially the youth. His impact was enormous, and when he died in 1595, much of Rome had been reconverted. The same God who spoke to Philip almost five hundred years ago challenges each one of us this morning through this Scriptures.
While all the synoptic Gospels mention a mission of the Twelve, only Luke adds a second mission of the 72. Just as Moses selected the seventy-two elders to guide and govern his people, so Luke presents Jesus as the “new Moses” in today’s gospel. Jesus sends out his seventy-two disciples to towns and villages to announce his visit, thus giving a symbolic meaning to the number seventy-two. The Jews also believed that there were seventy-two nations in the whole world, and they had seventy-two members in the Sanhedrin, the supreme council of the Jews. In the Book of Genesis, seventy descendants of Jacob moved with him from Israel to Egypt to begin a new life. In the Book of Exodus, seventy elders go up the Mountain of God along with Moses to learn about the new covenant with YHWH. Who were these seventy-two Jesus sent out ? We don’t know even one of their names. Their names are not mentioned. And there is a reason for that. They are us. We are the seventy-two. Each of us, by the very fact that we have heard the Lord's call, is likewise sent on a mission.
The messengers were to preach that the kingdom of God is at hand. The kingdom of God comes into being wherever God reigns, and wherever His will is done. The kingdom of God is present in the people through whom God acts. “Hence the early church equated Christ with the kingdom of God because God reigns in Christ, God’s will is done in Christ and God acts through Christ” (L G, #5). Thus to proclaim the kingdom of God is the same as to proclaim Christ. The kingdom of God has come upon us if God reigns in our hearts, if we do God's will, if God acts through us. When we preach “the kingdom of God is at hand” we are inviting the people to reach out and enter that Kingdom. What do we mean by “at hand” ? If I made a new house and did all the wiring for lighting, air conditioning, heating and stove etc..I won’t be getting the electricity in my house if no electricity is going through the area. But if the electricity is running over head, or in the neighbourhood, I can get the connection with some cable or wire, and get my house lighted and heated…It is something like this when we say the kingdom of God is at hand. The light and life is at hand and available now for you, reach out and grab him and make your life bright, eternal, happy and joyous. And he is at hand now as he was 2000 years ago.
We need to continue the preaching mission: Just as Jesus in today’s gospel gives instructions to the seventy-two missionaries, he also gives each one of us a mission to carry out. And our mission field is our parish and our workplace and neighbourhood. A recent survey asked the question, “Why do adults join the Catholic Church in spite of the scandals publicized in the media?” Seventy-five percent of the new adult converts to the Catholic Church reported that they were attracted by a personal invitation from a Catholic who had a lively relationship with Christ and his Church. As faithful Catholics, we will attract others to the Catholic Church—just as a rose attracts people by its beauty and fragrance. It’s our job. It’s our responsibility. We must not miss the current opportunities to be apostles in everyday life by our words and deeds.
When he tells his listeners to "ask the master of the harvest", he is telling us to pray for vocations. This is something concrete that every Catholic can do to further the Church's mission. In our parish we have the 30 hr adoration starting on every first Friday after the 10.00 am Mass till before Saturday evening Mass. A lot of people find time for that at some time during these hours. If you can’t go to Asia or Africa for mission work, you can do it here, may be praying for vocations at the dead of the night, sacrificing your sleep.
So during this Mass, and throughout this week, let's keep asking God to send more laborers into the harvest. And when we receive him in Holy Communion, let's ask him to show us how to be better followers, let's ask him to send us out this week to bring his Good News to someone who needs to hear it.
Today when we celebrate the blessing of the nation’s independence, we are to consider how much of that freedom we need to share with others. Our allegiance to country never supersedes nor is ever equivalent to our allegiance to God. We sing “God Bless America,” and yet we know that our faith will not allow us to ask God’s favoritism toward us over other nations. We know there are no national boundary lines with God. Our first allegiance is to the God whose truth still marches on. As we celebrate the independence let’s ask God’s grace on the leaders and the people to work for justice and peace, here in this land and all around the world.