DAILY- HOMILY

03 July 2016

14th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME  

Cycle C.  Green.  

Is 66:10 – 14c / Gal 6:14 – 18 / Lk 10:1 –12, 17-20

From the 1st Reading: Is 66: 10 - 12 

Rejoice for Jerusalem and be glad for her, all you who love her.  Be glad with her, rejoice with her, all you who were in grief over her, that you may suck of the milk from her comforting breasts that you may drink deeply from the abundance of her glory.

For this is what Yahweh says:  I will send her peace, overflowing like a river' and the nations' wealth, rushing like a torrent towards her. And you will be nursed and carried in her arms and fondled upon her lap.

From the 2nd Reading: Gal 6: 14 - 17

For me, I do not wish to take pride in anything except in the cross of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Through him the world has been crucified to me and I to the world.

Let us no longer speak of the circumcised and of non-Jews, but of a new creation. Let those who live according to this rule receive peace and mercy: they are the Israel of God!  Let no one trouble me any longer:  for my part, I bear in my body the marks of Jesus.

From the Gospel Reading: Lk 10: 1 – 8, 17

After this the Lord appointed seventy-two other disciples and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he himself was to go.  And he said to them, "The harvest is rich, but the workers are few.  So you must ask the Lord of the harvest to send workers to his harvest.  Courage! I am sending you like lambs among wolves.  Set off without purse or bag or sandals; and do not stop at the homes of those you know. 

"Whatever house you enter, first bless them saying, 'Peace to this house.'  If a friend of peace lives there, the peace shall rest upon that person. But if not, the blessing will return to you. Stay in that house eating and drinking at their table, for the worker deserves to be paid. Do not move from house to house.

"When they welcome you in any town, eat what they offer you. Heal the sick who are there and say to them: 'The kingdom of God has drawn near to you."  

The seventy-two disciples returned full of joy. They said, "Lord, even the demons obeyed us when we called on your name."

Reflection

Today's Gospel narrative is Luke's account of the missioning of the seventy-two disciples. This account follows the missioning of the twelve apostles.  Like the Twelve, the seventy-two are tasked to labor in the field by exercising power over demons, curing the sick and preaching the kingdom of God.  Jesus also gives them other directives for their mission: no purse, no extra provisions, lodging and food where they find them.  

The disciples travel light to focus on their task of proclaiming the kingdom of God.  To be effective preachers of the Good News, they are also to be witnesses of a simple and ascetic life-style.

In the parallel account in Matthew's Gospel, they are also reminded, "Go and proclaim this message: The kingdom of God is near. Heal the sick, bring the dead back to life, cleanse the lepers, and drive out demons. You received this as a gift, so give it as a gift." (Mt 10: 7-8)  It is because one has received that one is able to give.  Here lies the heart of mission – consciousness of being a recipient of God's unmerited generosity which compels one to also freely give.

As believers in the risen Lord, all Christians are summoned to participate in Christ's mission: "Go out to the whole world and proclaim the Good News to all creation." (Mk 16: 15)  Proclaiming the Good News today may not include miraculously curing the sick, cleansing lepers, and even bringing the dead back to life.  But the Christian's call to proclaim the kingdom of God never ceases.  Contemporary Christians are tasked to spread the Good News through charitable lives and acts which bring God to the least, the lost and the last.  Too often the work may be truly taxing and disappointing in not bearing any fruit.

But the Christian is constantly reminded that the giving of oneself and preaching the kingdom of God is possible only because one has been a recipient of God's tremendous goodness. At the heart of mission is the heart of God who never ceases to give.

WE PRAY FOR MTQ DAILY PRAYER DIARY INTENTIONS:

BIRTHDAY

     Ann Bernales

WEDDING ANNIVERSARY

     Patrick & Jershanale Sy

IN MEMORIAM (+)

     Douglas L. Abadco

     Joanna Choa (Oct 29, 1914 – Jul 3, 2008)

Finally, we pray for one another, for those who have asked our prayers and for those who need our prayers the most. 

Have a good day!

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