Saturday, March 5, 2016

Today’s Reading  |  Luke 10:1–24        
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. 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. Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this house!’ And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you. 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. Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; cure the sick who are there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, ‘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.’ I tell you, on that day it will be more tolerable for Sodom than for that town. “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the deeds of power done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But at the judgment it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? No, you will be brought down to Hades. “Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.”

The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!” He said to them, “I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing will hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” At that same hour Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” Then turning to the disciples, Jesus said to them privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.” (NRSV)

Reflection
How we live out our Christian faith is always a difficult question to grapple with, which is why I’m always so thankful for these passages of scripture that can bring us back to the basics. When Jesus sent out his disciples to spread the news of the kingdom of God, the message was incredibly simple. They were instructed to carry the simple message of the gospel; the first words to come from their mouth were to be an exclamation: “Peace be unto this house!” As disciples of Christ, we have the great honor to carry Christ’s peace out into the world, a peace that is given to any who are willing to share in that peace.

While this passage is instruction for how to be a disciple, it also provides great insight into how we should treat those who come into our communities: with welcome, offering food and drink. For when we do this to Christ’s children, we do this for Christ himself. And by listening to those voices, we listen to Christ.

Prayer
Lord, in my journey, help me be an envoy of peace in the world. Help me to carry your spirit everywhere that I go. And help me to welcome all people as your children, to open my ears to the messages of your disciples that will come from unknown places. Amen.

Written by Jared Light, Member of Fourth Presbyterian Church

Reflection and Prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church

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