7th August Trinity
 |
| Jan Luyken |
Luke 10: 1-20
After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others
and sent them two by two ahead of him, before his face, to every town and place
where he himself was about to go. He told them, “An ample harvest, and few
workers! Ask the harvest master, therefore, to send out workers to help with
the harvesting. Go: I hereby send you out like lambs in the midst of wolves. Do
not take a wallet or knapsack or sandals; and do not pause to greet anyone on
the way.
“When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this
house.’ If a son of peace is there, your peace will alight on him; if not, it
will turn round and come back to you. Stay in that place, eating and drinking
with them, because the worker is worth his wages. Do not move around from house
to house.
“When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is set
before you, and heal the sick and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God is close upon
you.’ But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and
say, ‘Even the dust of your town that sticks to our feet we are shaking off (to
your face). Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God is approaching ’ I am
telling you, Sodom will be better off than that town on that day.
“The worse for you, Chorazin! The
worse for you Bethsaida! Because if the deeds of the spirit
that occurred in you had had occurred in Tyre and Sidon,
they would long since be sitting in sackcloth and ashes as a sign of
their change of heart and mind. But Tyre and Sidon will be better off on the
day of decision than you. And you, Capernaum [kuh-puhr’-nay-uhm], won’t you
be exalted to the skies? You will go down to the depths.
He who listens to you listens to me; he who rejects
you rejects me; but he who rejects me rejects him who sent me. “
The seventy-two returned with joy and said “Lord,
even the demons submit to us in your name.”
He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from
the sky. Here, I have now given you authority to trample on snakes and
scorpions and on all the power of the enemy and none of it shall ever hurt you.
But do not be glad that the spirits submit to you; be glad that your true being
is taken up into the world of the heavens (that your names are recorded in the
heavens).
7th August /Sept Trinity
Sept 7, 2014
Luke 10:1-20
Numbers are for quantities.
They describe a collective of two or three (or 72) units. A name, however,
describes quality. A person’s name becomes shorthand for the unique quality of their
being. Even though there may be many Johns or Sallys, any particular John or
Sally is like no other.
The gospel reading begins
with a collective. Seventy-two are sent out in 36 pairs. When they return they
are somewhat intoxicated with their own spiritual effectiveness. Christ does
not deny their effectiveness. But he encourages them to rejoice that the
quality of their unique being, their name,
will be preserved in the heavenly
worlds,
Christ came so that our true
being would not fall prey to ruin. He rejoices in our individuality, our uniqueness.
We are to clothe our uniqueness in an attitude of peace. Quality shall be
uppermost, the quality of peaceful, non-violent dignity. And so we may hear the
voice of our angel in the poet’s wish:
May
you awaken to the mystery of being here and enter the quiet immensity of your
own presence.
May
you have joy and peace in the temple of your senses.
May
you receive great encouragement when new frontiers beckon.
May
you respond to the call of your gift and find the courage to follow its path.
….May
you experience each day as a sacred gift woven around the heart of wonder.[1]
