HOMILY FOR 26TH THURSDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR B
HOMILY FOR 26TH THURSDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR B
HOMILY THEME: PEACE BE TO THIS HOUSEHOLD
BY: Fr. Mike Lagrimas
Jesus appointed seventy[-two] other disciples whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit. 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. 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. 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.
ALSO RECOMMENDED: HOMILY FOR 26TH THURSDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
The Gospel on Wednesday of last week tells us about the sending of the Twelve on a mission (Lk 9:1‐6). But in addition to the Twelve, the Gospel of St. Luke mentions another seventy-two disciples appointed and sent by Jesus to the places He intends to visit. They are to prepare the people of those towns and impart to them the Good News: ʹJesus is coming here to you!ʹ
In the first place, Jesus makes them realize of the great work ahead: “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few. So ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.” He is not referring to priests and nuns only. Rather, He points this out as the concern of all His followers. St. Gregory the Great commented: “It is, indeed, regrettable that the harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few. There is no shortage of people to hear the Good News. What is missing are people to spread it.”
Secondly, He makes sure they are aware of what they are into: “Behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves.” Just as He Himself undergoes opposition and persecutions, so also His disciples, bearing the same message as His, will undergo the same kind of treatment from people.
Jesus then goes on to give specific instructions to them. First, they have to travel light: “Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals; and greet no one along the way.” This is not an exhortation to mendicancy, but a call to freedom for any encumbrance of material things in order to promptly respond to the urgent demands of their mission. There is no time and opportunity to waste.
Second, they are to be bearers of peace. They are sent to bring the Good News – truth, justice, love – which is key to genuine and lasting peace. They are not, therefore, to engage in useless debates and arguments that may bring even more confusion and discord to the community.
Then, as part of their witnessing, they cannot go around looking for better accommodation and amenities: “Do not move about from one house to another. Stay in the same house and eat and drink what is offered to you.” This is also in recognition of the fact that the family that welcomes them is God’s chosen instrument in that place to help them in their mission. Hence, they are not to be concerned about their daily needs because everything will be sufficiently provided for. After all, “the laborer deserves his payment.”
Essentially, the message they proclaim is, “The kingdom of God is at hand for you.” This is the core message of Jesus. In fact, St. Luke mentions the ‘Kingdom of God’ more than thirty times, while St. Matthew mentions it more than fifty times. Basically, the ‘kingdom of God’ is the reign of God in the world. And the coming of Jesus is the embodiment of that reign – where there is peace, harmony, healing, happiness and salvation for all.
One concrete sign of that reign is the restoration of the well being of everyone: “the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the good news proclaimed to them” (Lk 7:22). Hence, Jesus sends His disciples with the marching order: “Cure the sick.”
And finally, like lambs sent in the midst of wolves, not all places will receive them with open arms. So, in cases where they encounter rejection, they must remember that it is not they who are being rejected, but the One who sent them. So, they are to tell the people, “The dust of your town that clings to our feet, even that we shake off against you.”
These instructions of the Lord are given to all of us as well, laity and clergy alike. Not all of them, though, can be literally applied in our time, but we need to make the underlying principles and values ours too. As lay faithful, the most important thing for you to realize here is that you have all the capacity and responsibility to evangelize (munus propheticum), and this is not delegated by the hierarchy, but comes directly from Jesus Christ, through Baptism and Confirmation (Lumen Gentium, 35). The Decree of the Apostolate of the Laity, Apostolicam Actuositatem (Nov. 18, 1965) asserts that “the apostolate of the laity derives from their Christian vocation and the Church can never be without it.”
May the Gospel lesson today inspire us to do something more to help in the spread of the Gospel for the greater glory of God salvation of all souls.
FOR A SIMILAR HOMILY, CLICK HERE >>>>>
Dear friends in Christ, We have been sustained by your Charity for the past 11years. Here we are saddled with annual bills. Please, be kind to us with your donation. Click on the “Donate” button to get started. MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
