Walking with Jesus: Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

For Sunday, July 3, 2022

Isaiah 66:10-14; Galatians 6:14-18; Luke 10:1-1, 17-20

We’ve been on many trips and vacations. We’ve made necessary plans on what clothes, medicine, etc., we would need. We’ve hoped and prayed that everything would be perfect. Many times it was; other times it was an ”adventure” ... that's the kindest word I can think of. We look forward to the experience but what actually transpires may cause apprehension. No matter what happens, the adventurer (that’s us) is changed. Our lives are a journey which have many stories in themselves, from their very inception to our final journey to our invited place in heaven. We can plan as much as we would like, but the bottom line remains the same: Am I preparing myself to be with the Lord each day and live my life accordingly? Have I started already? Am I waiting because I feel that I have plenty of time later to prepare to meet the Lord? Am I not concerned at all, and just feel I’m OK and don’t need anyone or any supreme power to tell me what I should be doing? The journey is not a fear journey, because God is a God of love. Am I responding to God’s love? Am I following the path that Jesus lived and showed us? Is this an ongoing preparation or a one-time preparation? Does it involve my daily attention and adjusting of my life accordingly?

In today’s gospel, Jesus is sending out 72 of His followers to proclaim the Good News of salvation. They have listened, watched, observed and gotten to know Jesus intimately. They believe in Him. What changed them was that each had a personal, life-changing event with Jesus: what they saw, heard, and observed that convinced them He was the man … savior… redeemer … who loves “ME” and invites me to my intended home with God forever. Jesus’ words and actions transformed them, and today they are commissioned to offer to others what they have received. This invitation is from Jesus to all people. How am I doing? Have I been receptive? Am I doubtful, feeling this call is for others and not me? Why am I hesitant?

Isaiah’s book begins with God’s complaint that the children of Israel do not appreciate the love that the heavenly Father gives them:

Hear, O heavens, and listen, O earth, for the Lord speaks, Sons I raised and reared, but they have disowned Me! … My people have not understood ... sinful nation, people laden with wickedness, evil race, corrupt children. They have forsaken the Lord, spurned the Holy One of Israel, apostatized. [Isaiah 1:2-4]

Ensuing chapters explore the many steps God has taken to bring these unrepentant, ungrateful people home to the Lord and His ways. Today’s reading is Isaiah’s final chapter and announces the happy outcome of God’s total love and care for them. The people have returned from exile. They are a small people … maybe 500 ... yet God guarantees that their very presence is the very beginning of something greater. God’s restoration has begun. They are letting God love them and lead them. Am I letting God lead me, or do I feel I know the way or don’t need God’s help? Isaiah invites the people to celebrate God’s wonderful gift of salvation. Do I do the same?

The Galatians are arguing that to be a Christian, one must become a Jew and take on all the obligations of the Mosaic Law. Paul is not concerned with this: It is not a contest. The most important event that changed him was the cross of Christ. All that matters to him is becoming a new person in Christ: “I’m not concerned with what people think, I bear the marks of Jesus on my body.” [Galatians 6:17] Does this mean that Paul received the stigmata? The footnote in the Catholic Study Bible reads:

Slaves were often branded by marks (stigmata) burned into their flesh to show to whom they belonged, so also were devotees to pagan gods. Paul implies that instead of outdated circumcision, his body bears the scars of his apostolic labors, such as floggings and stonings that mark him as belonging to the Christ who suffered and will protect His own.

We have many marks that exemplify what it means to be a follower of Jesus. Right?

Jesus sends out the 72, telling them, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few. …” [Luke 10:2]  Their (our) reception will be mixed: Some will accept them; others will reject them and the call to change their lives into the Lord’s. Just don’t give up … don’t let your world slow you down. God’s plan for the salvation of the world has been inaugurated. “I am sending you like lambs among wolves.” [Luke 10:3] And we hear Jesus' very last proclamation words from Matthew: “And behold I am with you always, until the end of the age.” [Matthew 28:20]

We are called. We have been chosen in our Baptism. We are part of God’s plan. It is God who moves the hearts of people. We do not. If and when people’s hearts are closed, we can do nothing to change that. Simply move on to the next place. Pray for the person God has chosen to bring these people to Himself. Look how the disciples returned and announced their successes. Jesus proclaimed that Satan is steadily losing his grip on the world as the kingdom of God advances.

So I reflect on:

• It’s not about making people like me, but treating others with respect while still offering them a relationship with God. How am I doing?
• How does sharing my personal story of God help others more than arguing with them? How can I effectively witness to that happiness?

Sacred Space 2022 states:

“Jesus is preparing His disciples for mission. He leaves them in no doubt about the challenges, obstacles and dangers that will await them. They will succeed, however, because the power of God is working with them. Accordingly, ‘the seventy return with joy.’ Do I experience that joy when I do what the Lord wants?”