14th Sunday in Ordinary Time, July 6, 2025

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What might a call from Jesus to go out and preach the gospel look like?

Luke 10: 1–12, 17–20

At that time the Lord appointed seventy-two others
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."

The seventy-two returned rejoicing, and said,
"Lord, even the demons are subject to us because of your name."
Jesus said, "I have observed Satan fall like lightning from the sky.
Behold, I have given you the power to 'tread upon serpents' and scorpions
and upon the full force of the enemy and nothing will harm you.
Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you,
but rejoice because your names are written in heaven."

Music Meditations

  • The Summons
  • Here I am, Lord
  • Lead Me, Guide Me
  • Servant Song

Preparation / Centering

If done in a group setting, the prompts are read aloud by the leader; otherwise a silent meditation.

Adapted from Sacred Space: The Prayer Book 2025

Presence of God:

Jesus, As I come to you today, fill my heart, my whole being, with the wonder of your sacred presence. Help me to become more aware of your presence in my life, and more receptive to that presence. I desire to love you as you love me. May nothing ever separate me from you.

[1-2 minutes of silence]

Freedom:

Jesus, Grant me the grace to have freedom of spirit. Keep me from being bound by desires and actions that are not good for me or others. Cleanse my heart and soul that I may live joyously in your love.

[1-2 minutes of silence]

Consciousness:

Where am I with God? With others in my life? What am I grateful for? Is there something I am sorry for, words or actions that have hurt others, and which I now regret? I take a moment to ask forgiveness of God and of those whom I have hurt. God, I give you thanks for your constant love and care for me. Keep me always aware of your presence in my life.

[2-3 minutes of silence]

Opening Prayer

From Sacred Space:

Jesus, you came as one bringing peace, and told us to greet people with a word of peace, not hostility, or judgment. May your blessing flow through me, so that when I leave people, they may feel approved of, contented and tranquil

Companions for the Journey

From Living Space, a service of the Irish Jesuits

In addition to the inner circle of the Twelve, we are told today that he appointed another 72 (12×6) and sent them two by two to the places he himself would be visiting (note that only Luke mentions this group). That is a good description of our Christian role. We are supposed to go first to prepare the ground, but then it is Jesus himself who comes to plant the seed of faith.

Jesus then goes on to give an instruction to his disciples. We, too, should be listening to his words.

First, he points out that the harvest is great and there are very few laborers—few who are willing to do the harvesting work with Jesus.

This is a text which is often thrown at us during “vocation” campaigns. We tend to hear it as a call for more priests, brothers and nuns. It is that, of course, but when Jesus spoke there were no priests, brothers or nuns. The challenge was being thrown out to all his followers to find more people to join in the harvesting work.

We have to be careful as we listen to these words not to exclude ourselves because we are middle-aged, or married, or already have a career. The words are addressed to all of us and call for some kind of response from every one of us. It is never too late to respond to the call.

Second, Jesus warns his followers that it may not be easy. “I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves.”

In spite of the message of truth, love, compassion and justice that we bring, it does not mean that we will be received with open arms. On the contrary, we may meet with strong opposition and even persecution. Our message will be seen as threatening. It will be distorted and misunderstood.

Third, the disciples are called on to travel light. Jesus himself “had nowhere to lay his head” and he only had the clothes he wore. 

So many of us are weighed down by the things we own. Some of us have to protect our property with the latest in security devices. In our search for prosperity and material security we have lost the more precious gift of freedom. The disciples are not to stop to greet people in the sense of carrying on lengthy conversations. Their mission was urgent—there are few laborers for a potentially huge harvest.

Fourth, they are to be bearers of peace. Peace, shalom, is much more than an absence of violence. It is a deep inner harmony with oneself, with others, with one’s environment, with God:

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. (Matt 5:9)

We could hardly bring a more precious gift to others than this inner peace. It is, in fact, the heart of our Christian message. Faith, hope and love are the keys to peace.

Fifth, the evangelizer is to stay in the first house that accepts him. He should not be going around looking for better accommodation. At the same time, he is to be provided with shelter and hospitality:

…for the laborer deserves to be paid.

This, it seems, was the way Jesus himself lived. And this was the overall ideal of the Christian community: a network of mutually supporting people sharing their resources with each other and with those in greater need than themselves.

Sixth, their work is primarily to heal the sick in the places they go to. ‘Healing’ should be taken in a wider sense of including body, feelings, mind and spirit. And ‘healing’ should also be seen not just as getting rid of a sickness, but of making a person whole again. Bringing healing and wholeness into the lives of individuals and communities is of the essence of the Kingdom and at the heart of Jesus’ work and that of his followers. The sign of that wholeness is inner peace. Today it is no different.

And they are to say:

…the kingdom of God has come near.

This is not just a statement they are to throw out. It is the core of Jesus’ message and an explanation of why people are experiencing healing and wholeness coming into their lives. This is the effect of the coming of the Kingdom; this is what the coming of the Kingdom means. God’s power is penetrating their lives, transforming them and making them whole again.

Luke mentions the kingdom of God more than 30 times; Matthew more than 50 times. Matthew’s is truly a Gospel of the Kingdom.

The term can have a number of meanings:

  • the eternal Kingship (basileia) of God;
  • the presence of the Kingdom in the person of Jesus; he is the embodiment, the incarnation of the rule of God in himself, an incarnation he wishes to be found in his disciples and the communities they establish;
  • the future Kingdom in the life that is to come.

In short, the Kingdom—the rule of God—is intended to be both a present reality as well as a future hope.

And finally, seventh, if there is any place where they are not received, the disciples are to leave it to its own fate. Even then those people are to know that the Kingdom of God is near to them also. There is always the hope that the results of their very rejection of the Kingdom will lead to a deeper awareness later on. By rejecting the messengers of God, they have opened themselves to a fate worse than that of Sodom, a city utterly destroyed because of its shameful lack of hospitality to divine visitors. But those hearing the message of Jesus are even more accountable for hearing the message of the Kingdom proclaimed to them and turning their back on it.

Clearly, we cannot literally apply all of these points to our own work on behalf of the Gospel, but we need to make the underlying principles and values ours too. It will require some reflection on our part, both as individuals and as communities, on how we should effectively share the Gospel with those around us and be the harvesters that are so badly needed. Indeed, let us pray for vocations, but let us remember that every single one of us is being called to work in the harvest field and not just some chosen souls who are totally unknown to us.

Weekly Memorization

Taken from the gospel for today’s session…

The harvest is abundant, but the laborers are few

Living the Good News

What action can you take in the next week as a response to today’s reading and discussion?

Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions or the meditations which follow:

Reflection Questions

  • Do I think of only ordained or consecrated individuals as the legitimate preachers of the gospel?
    What, exactly IS my role in spreading the Good News of Jesus and the Kingdom?
    Do I understand that I have a role and a mission?
    Am I uncomfortable with that idea?
    Why?
  • What might be the rewards of accepting this commission?
    What might be the costs of accepting this commission?
  • What are some particular venues in which I might actually be a missionary of Jesus?
    What are some particular strengths or talents I possess that can be used to help others, heal others?
  • What if I encounter resistance or downright hostility?
    What did Jesus tell the 72 to do?
  • As I travel through life, am I burdened with the weight of all the “stuff” I am carrying?
    What material goods can I divest myself of?
    What resentments can I let go of?
    What guilt can I entrust to God?
  • What, to me, is the difference between “curing” and “healing”?
  • Am I ready to go wherever God sends me, even if I do not know the outcome?
  • What “baggage” would I have to leave behind to be a disciple of Jesus?
  • What intimidates me about the task of spreading the good news of the gospel?
  • Are there any lines in the gospel which give me courage for the task of being disciple?
  • Are there any people in my life right now who are actively living out their call?

Meditations

A Meditation in the Ignatian Style/ Imagination:
Luke 10: 1-12, 17-20 Place yourself in the events of this gospel, and imagine that you are one of the ones Jesus is sending on a mission. How do you imagine yourself in that crowd of 72? What does Jesus look like as he speaks to yo?. Does he address you personally and look directly at you? How do you feel as he tells you of the importance of this mission? How do you feel when he send you are going to be sent as lambs among wolves? How do the others seem to react? Which of his directives make absolute sense to you? And which give you pause? How does it feel to know that you will be empowered to cure the sick? How does it feel when He hints that you might not be welcome everywhere? Stay with these feelings for a few minutes, imagining the reactions of others around you, the location where this is taking place, the sounds, smells, and concrete reality of the situation. Now project this scene into your own time and your own personal situation. What are you being asked to do in the here and now? What are your challenges? Think of one way that you can be a “missionary for Christ”, and get out there and get started!
A Meditation in the Franciscan Style/Action:
There is an article in America Magazine on June 27 which chronicles the story of the Catholic sister who brought faith an social justice to New York’s airwaves for over 50 years. As a woman religious among male clerics of other faiths, she had to fight to get the job, but eventually were over three million listeners a week. Three times a day on Sunday, for the last 52 years, Sister Camille Arienzo, RSM, in her Queens-accented voice, offered stories of inspiration and challenged listeners to think about the moral questions surrounding them. This was on the local news station WINS 1010. She questioned the arrest of undocumented immigrants, reported on the murder of clerics in Central America, spoke out about genocide in Rwanda, among other more ordinary moral issues. She was against nuclear proliferation, for peace and forgiveness, for welcoming LGBTQ people into the church. She spoke her mind. Because of her public resistance to the Church’s refusal to consider allowing women in the priesthood, she had to declare that she did not speak officially for the Diocese of Brooklyn, but spoke simply as a Catholic sister. Finally retiring at 92, she has been the longest continuous voice on WINS 1010 in its history. An unlikely missionary in the modern world, but a missionary nonetheless, she follows in the footsteps of those first 72…. Make no mistake, we each are invited to be missionaries bringing the Good News of the Kingdom to the world around us. Each person’s calling is unique and comes with its successes and its pitfalls. What have I been called to do? What have I been called to be? Has my mission changed over the years? Am I an active spokesperson for Jesus and His message? Do I live what I preach? Am I willing to be one of the 72?
Poetic Reflection:

Read the following poem from former Stegner Fellow Thomas Centollela, calling us to an active ministry of love. Resolve to pick one thing you can start to do this week that reaches out to others and brings the love and message of Jesus to them. Take the risk:

“At Big Rec”

A few hours spent in the dry rooms of the dying.
Then the walk home, and the sudden rain
comes hard, and you want it coming hard,
you want it hitting you in the forehead
like anointment, blessing all the days
that otherwise would be dismissed
as business as usual. Now you’re ready
to lean on the rail above the empty diamonds
where, in summer, the ballplayers wait patiently
for one true moment more alive than all the rest.
Now you’re ready for the ancient religion of dogs,
that unleashed romp through the wildness, responding
To no one’s liturgy but the field’s and the rain’s.
You’ve come this far, but you need to live further in.
You need to slip into the blind man for a while,
tap along with his cane past the market stalls
and take in, as if they were abandoned,
the little blue crabs which within an hour will be eaten.
You have to become large enough to accommodate
all the small lives that otherwise would be forgotten.
You have to raise yourself to the power of ten.
Love more, require less, love without regard
For form. You have to live further in.

Closing Prayer

MY LORD GOD, I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you.
And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.
And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore, will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.
I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.

—Thomas Merton