(Edited) Sunday Reflections (from) Liturgical Years 2011 (A), 2012 (B), and 2013 (C)
14th Sunday of the Year (C), July 7, 2013
Liturgical readings
Isaiah 66:10-14
Psalm 66
Galatians 6:14-18
Luke 10:1-12, 17-20
Author's note: Below is a Paraphrase of the gospel with a reflection written below it. This paraphrase of the gospel is based on Fr. Ver Miranda's (CICM) method of presenting the gospel for the purpose of exegetical studies. His method is more effective on a blackboard. I have adapted his method for a blog and not for exegetical purposes. This may help the reader understand the gospel from the perspective of reflection.
Gospel paraphrase
The Lord appointed
a further seventy-two
and sent them in pairs before him
to every town and place
he intended to visit
He said to them:
"The harvest is rich
but the workers are few;
therefore
ask the harvest-master
to send workers to his harvest
Be on your way,
and remember:
I am sending you as lambs
in the midst of wolves.
Do not carry a walking staff
or traveling bag:
wear no sandals
and greet no one along the way.
On entering any house,
first say,
'Peace to this house.'
If there is a peacable man there,
your peace will rest on him;
if not, it will come back to you.
Stay in the one house
eating and drinking what they have,
for the laborer is worth his wage.
Do not move from house to house
Into whatever city you go,
after they welcome you,
eat what they set before you,
and cure the sick there.
Say to them
'The reign of God is at hand.'
If the people of any town you enter
do not welcome you,
go into its streets and say,
'We shake the dust of this town
from our feet
as testimony against you.
But know that the reign of God
is near.'
I assure you,
on that day
the fate of Sodom
will be less severe
than that of such a town."
The seventy-two
returned in jubilation
saying,
"Master
even the demons are subject to us
in your name."
He said in reply:
"I watched Satan
fall from the sky
like lightning.
See what I have done;
I have given you power
to tread on snakes
and scorpions
and all forces of the enemy,
and nothing shall ever injure you.
Nevertheless,
do not rejoice so much
in the fact
that the devils are subject to you
as that your names
are inscribed in heaven."
Reflection:
In the gospel for the 14th Sunday of the Year (C), Jesus commissions seventy-two disciples to extend his mission "to every town and place he intended to visit." The mission he intends to do is a mission of peace, healing the sick, and expelling evil spirits. When the 72 disciples finished completing the mission, they received much success from their efforts. But these efforts were done in the name of Jesus. They were jubilant because they were able to expel demons. Jesus sobered them up from their experience and told them this truth: there is a greater joy and reward than what they have accomplished here on earth - an eternal reward where their "names are inscribed in heaven".
The mission which Jesus gave to the 72 disciples is also the mission of all the baptized in the Church. By one's baptismal consecration, we become part of this mission of peace the Lord and His seventy-two disciples began. We may not have the gift to cure the sick, nor the power to expel demons, but we all have the potential to be peacemakers - to bring peace to every family or house we visit informally, or formally, through a parish apostolate or charitable cause. What we are called to do is one of the Beatitudes: "Blest are the peacemakers; they shall be called sons of God." St. Francis of Assisi made popular this beatitude through his prayer for peace: "Make me an instrument of thy peace".
Probably the best source of peace we can receive in prayer is in the Eucharist. The whole Mass itself is a gift of peace for all who participate. There is a prayer (which may seem unnoticeable due to its familiarity) after the prayer of the Pater Noster. But it exactly prays for the peace the whole community needs: from the priest-presider, everyone in the altar, and all those who attend the Sacrament. It is the priest who prays this short prayer:
Deliver us, Lord, we pray, from every evil, graciously grant peace in our days, that, by the help of your mercy, we may be always free from sin and safe from all distress, as we await the blessed hope and the
coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
It is a short prayer before we make the sign of peace, but it is effective in increasing the faith of the community. A prayer to: "deliver us from every evil"..."grant peace in our days"..."to be always free from sin"..."safe from all distress"..."as we await the blessed hope and the coming of our Savior".
