The Gospel for October 19, 2004 (Henry Martyn)
Luke 10:1-16
After this the Lord appointed seventy–two others and sent them out ahead of him in pairs, to all the towns and places he himself would be visiting. And he said to them, ‘The harvest is rich but the labourers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send labourers to do his harvesting. Start off now, but look, I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Take no purse with you, no haversack, no sandals. Salute no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, let your first words be, “Peace to this house!” And if a man of peace lives there, your peace will go and rest on him; if not, it will come back to you. Stay in the same house, taking what food and drink they have to offer, for the labourer deserves his wages; do not move from house to house. Whenever you go into a town where they make you welcome, eat what is put before you. Cure those in it who are sick, and say, “The kingdom of God is very near to you.” But whenever you enter a town and they do not make you welcome, go out into its streets and say, “We wipe off the very dust of your town that clings to our feet, and leave it with you. Yet be sure of this: the kingdom of God is very near.” I tell you, on the great Day it will be more bearable for Sodom than for that town. ‘Alas for you, Chorazin! Alas for you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. And still, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon at the Judgement than for you. And as for you, Capernaum, did you want to be raised high as heaven? You shall be flung down to hell. ‘Anyone who listens to you listens to me; anyone who rejects you rejects me, and those who reject me reject the one who sent me.’ -- The New Jerusalem Bible. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1995, c1985
A Study
This gospel alone has Jesus sending out the seventy, or seventy-two, depending on the manuscript translated. No other gospel mentions this number being sent out. But we have only two gospels that speak of Chorazin, nowhere else even mentioned. As we should frequently remind ourselves, our gospels are only the briefest sketches of Jesus' walk with us; there may have been scores of times when He sent out numbers of His followers to labor "in the harvest."
A Reflection
"Peace to this house!"
What a wonderful way to announce one's arrival: "Peace to this house." It sets the stage for the work we as laborers are sent to do, to proclaim the proximity of the kingdom and the good news of its Prince of Peace.
We all know those gentle persons who enter a room and command attention by their peacefulness and gentleness. People like Mother Teresa or Padre Pio or the Peace Pilgrim: these famous people were characterized by the instant peacefulness that flowed with them. But there are others like them that we meet and somehow recognize as owning that peace so abundantly that they can give it freely -- and not be diminished.
Elijah was told to stand on the mountain, and there came a great wind, and an earthquake, and fire. But God was not in them. When finally a stillness came, Elijah covered his face, for God was in the stillness.
God's kingdom is in the stillness, too. When we are being peaceful, peace-full on purpose, we are humbling ourselves before YHWH. Thoughts of being merciful and acting justly spring from such peace-fullness. Jesus our brother holds us in his arms and the Spirit of God moves over us and calms us as the holy wind, the Ruah, calmed the tumult of the chaos of creation.
Jesus' instruction to the seventy -- and to us -- speaks to the proclamation of peace through living out the abundance of giving away peace-fullness. In business and in our personal lives, we can show our love for God, we can act out love for our neighbor; we can do justice and we can love mercy and we can walk humbly with our God.
In proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, we need not shout about God's kingdom if we will live it through our actions and give peace away from the abundant source that refills our hearts with His peace.
Peace to this house. The kingdom of God is near. Be still, and enter into it.
The Collect
O God of the nations, who gave to your faithful servant Henry Martyn a brilliant mind, a loving heart, and a gift for languages, that he might translate the Scriptures and other holy writings for the peoples of India and Persia: Inspire in us a love like his, eager to commit both life and talents to you who gave them; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
12:53:12 AM 
|
|
