Luke 10:1-12

Job 19:21-27

Psalm 27:7-8a, 8b-9abc, 13-14

Luke 10:1-12

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.”

Opening Prayer: Lord God, you are the Lord of the harvest. Send me into the fields of the world to bring your peace, your Kingdom, and your healing. Help me to trust in you more deeply each day so that I may bear abundant spiritual fruit for your Kingdom.

Encountering the Word of God

1. Have Pity on Me: In the First Reading, Job responds to his friend Bildad for a second time. The first time Bildad spoke to Job (Job 8:1-22), he said that God rewarded the innocent and punished the sinner with suffering. He concluded that since Job was suffering, he must have sinned. Job responded to Bildad that he would like a day in court to establish his innocence (Job 9:15). The second time Bildad spoke (Job 18:1-21), he warned Job that hardships would befall the wicked man and that he is insulted that Job thinks that his advice is stupid (Job 18:3). Job’s response to Bildad reveals a new understanding and perception of his situation. On the one hand, he asks his friends to have pity on him (Job 19:21), and on the other, he asks for God to vindicate him after his death (Job 19:25-26).

2. Job’s Redeemer: Job is confident that his redeemer lives. A redeemer was a kinsman who was tasked with coming to the aid of a family member in need. If you fell into serious debt and had to sell your patrimony or were sold into slavery to pay the debt, a kinsman redeemer would step in to liberate you by paying off your debt. Job expresses his hope for such a redeemer or some type of mediator between himself and God. Job’s hope is only fully realized in Jesus Christ, who is our redeemer and the mediator of a New Covenant. Jesus is our brother, the one who pays off our debt incurred by sin and offers us the glorious freedom of the children of God.

3. The Good Shepherd Sends Out His Lambs: We see Jesus the Redeemer in action in the Gospel. Jesus doesn’t do everything by himself. Rather, like Moses, who appointed seventy elders to help govern Israel, Jesus appointed seventy-two disciples to labor and bring in the harvest. Jesus is the Good Shepherd who sends out his lambs among wolves. They will carry no money bag, sack for provisions, or second pair of sandals. In this way, Jesus asks them to trust in their heavenly Father, who will provide for them. Jesus indicates that their mission is to cure the sick and to announce the establishment of the Kingdom of God. The healings they will bring about are a visible manifestation and sign of what is spiritual and invisible. The disciples bring the Lord’s peace and prepare the way for Jesus to enter into the lives of those they minister to. Unlike the Pharisees, who often separated themselves from others, the disciples are to enjoy table fellowship with those who welcome them. They are to eat with sinners, with tax collectors, and eventually with the Gentiles.

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, you are the Good Shepherd. I have heard your voice in the past and hear it anew today. Call me to yourself, lead me to good pasture, give me to drink of the water of your Spirit. I trust that your Father will provide for me as I strive to bring your peace to the world.

Living the Word of God: Am I like Job’s friends, who identify suffering solely as a punishment from God, or like Job, who sought to understand the mystery of suffering? Do I see how I can offer up my sufferings, sacrifices, and trials and unite them to the sufferings of Jesus? Am I like the Pharisees who isolated themselves from “sinners” or like Jesus’ disciples who communicate the joy of the Gospel of salvation to all those they encounter?