DAILY- HOMILY

As we hear the story of Jesus sending out the seventy-two disciples, we cannot help but ask ourselves, "What is missionary work and evangelism, and why must we do it?" Jesus gives us the framework for missionary work and evangelism right here in his instructions to these seventy-two newly commissioned evangelists. He first tells them to bring the gift of peace to those they visit. He then tells them to heal the sick. And finally he tells them to preach the Good News that the Kingdom of God is near them. They were to teach, preach and heal, just like Jesus did when he entered a village.

Jesus' ministry included both physical and spiritual healing because the concerns of the ordinary people of Jesus' day were demons and sickness, and the two were very closely related. If we stop and think about it for a minute, things are not much different today. Demons are still present today. They just have different names.

Today we have the demons of alcoholism and drug abuse among us. We have the demon of domestic violence and abuse that we see paraded on TV and the Internet. We have the demon of addiction and oppression. We all have our own personal demons that we struggle with and we have just as many people who are spiritually sick today as were back then.

We are left with the question, what do we do about it ? How do we overcome evil in the world? Do you sit in the pews and listen to the preacher talk about it and walk out of the church or chapel shaking your heads and saying, "How awful !" and then go on with life as usual? Or, do you try and do something about it to make a difference. As Christians, we are all called to do something about the ills of society. Positive changes in our society will not come about until there are more people in this world who know God, and are willing to share God with those who don't know God.

That was the job of the original seventy-two missionaries, and that is our job as the church. The seventy-two missionaries were God's underground network of faithful followers who spread the Good News. We need to keep that underground active today spreading the Good News to those who have not heard it yet.

I think that what immobilizes us from spreading the Good News and overcoming evil in the world is the notion that there is just too much work to do in God's mission field and I am only one person. There is no way my efforts can make a difference. That notion is false. Every little good thing that you do, does make a difference at least to the person whom you have tried to lead closer to God. I think the most effective form of evangelism that we can offer is the way in which we live our lives, and by the example we set as Christians. I also believe some of the best forms of evangelism come very often in small ways with random acts of kindness. That is how we can defeat the evil in the world, one kind act at a time.

In the Gospel reading today, Jesus said to the seventy-two upon their return, "I saw Satan falling from Heaven like lightning." Jesus was saying that the seventy-two were participating in the defeat of evil in the world. We too can participate in the defeat of evil in our world.

We see Satan fall like lightning when, for instance, we forgive the one who has wronged us. Let us not be tricked into thinking that we cannot make a difference, because we can make a difference one small act at a time. May we go out into the world knowing that there is a great need out there. There is a world full of hurt and people are just looking for a ray of hope to get them through. May we be that ray of hope. May we belong to the group of seventy-two disciples that make a difference in the life of at least just one person.