Luke 10:1-12 – Mission of the Seventy
After this the Lord appointed seventy others
and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself
intended to go. 2 He said to them, "The harvest is
plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to
send out laborers into his harvest. 3 Go on your way. See, I am
sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. 4 Carry no
purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road. 5 Whatever
house you enter, first say, 'Peace to this house!' 6 And if anyone
is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not,
it will return to you. 7 Remain in the same house, eating and
drinking whatever they provide, for the laborer deserves to be paid. Do not
move about from house to house. 8 Whenever you enter a town and
its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; 9 cure the sick
who are there, and say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.' 10
But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into
its streets and say, 11 'Even the dust of your town that clings to
our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God
has come near.' 12 I tell you, on that day it will be more tolerable
for Sodom than for that town.
It has always been Jesus’ plan
to share the work he was given. So
it was then...so it is now. We are
given the opportunity to share in Jesus’ ministry...the opportunity to share
God’s abundant and fruitful love.
What better thing to contemplate on Valentine’s Day!
Sharing Jesus’ ministry can be exciting...or scary. Which one do you gravitate towards?
There are three Lenten disciplines which come from the
traditional Ash Wednesday gospel (Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21): almsgiving, prayer, and fasting. These are “Jesusworks” that will be key
to our Lenten journey.
Alms are money or
food given to the poor, coming from a Greek word for compassion. Giving
is at the very heart of the nature of God.
Prayer is an
indispensible practice...for Jesus...and for any who wish to follow him.
Fasting helps us
focus. There are so many
distractions...so much ‘candy’ (think of the five senses...) out in the world
that give us a quick “high” then leave us dissatisfied and wanting more...
How will you practice each of these disciplines so that you
can be a compassionate, connected, and focused laborer in God’s harvest? --P/T
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