Lambs Among Wolves

A Reflection on the Gospel for July 7th, 2019:
Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Luke 10.1-9

(For the longer version, see the print edition of Living with Christ.)

The Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go.

He said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest. Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road.

“Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this house!’ And if someone of peace is there, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you. Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the labourer deserves his wage. Do not move about from house to house.

“Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; cure the sick who are there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’

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He sent them to places He himself intended to go. Jesus goes before us, with us, after us; always THERE, always present. He knows that lambs don’t do well with wolves. We are the lambs and the world is full of wolves, especially in this constant movement toward complete secularization. In those days, they went door to door, but today only Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses do that, and I haven’t got the stats on their success rate. The constant, the thing that never changes, is that the harvest is plentiful and the labourers are few. Why is that? Could it be that over the centuries Christians got used to being the ones with the power? And could it be that only a very small number of the world’s Christians actually believe who Jesus is and that He is coming back to make a new heaven and a new earth? Well, I can’t fault anyone because I often fall into the same complacent, comfortable social couch, and sometimes I stay there too long. I need to get up, but I need to be awakened first. Wisdom tells us that when we wake up in the morning we should not jump out of bed but gently stretch and move for a few minutes. Christ awakens us, but He gives us time to stretch our spiritual limbs and muscles. He nourishes us with the Scriptures, Eucharist, and the community of believers. He calls, and He equips us to meet the call.

"Christ awakens us, but He gives us time to stretch our spiritual limbs and muscles."

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I am with friends from high school in my hometown as I write this, and all but one are professed atheists, agnostics, or secular humanists. I love them, enjoy their company, and look for openings to talk about Jesus in a way that is not coercive or preachy or self righteous, but those openings are few and far between. I go through periods of feeling guilty because I am not evangelizing. I feel I should be doing more. 

Then I read this passage. He sent out seventy and gave them a list of instructions; basically told them that not everyone would welcome them, but not to worry about numbers… tell them the good news and if they accept it, great… if not, move on! They’re God’s problem and He will sort it out. I have to remember that.

In the meantime, I pray for them and for myself, for a deeper faith, a ruthless trust in my King so that I can go tread on a few snakes and scorpions!

​Judy Savoy

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