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“The Disciples sent Two by Two”
by James Tissot, 1886-96 |
Pity me, pity me, O you my friends,
for the hand of God has struck me!
Why do you hound me as though you were divine,
and insatiably prey upon me?
Oh, would that my words were written down!
Would that they were inscribed in a record:
That with an iron chisel and with lead
they were cut in the rock forever!
But as for me, I know that my Vindicator lives,
and that he will at last stand forth upon the dust;
Whom I myself shall see:
my own eyes, not another's, shall behold him,
And from my flesh I shall see God;
my inmost being is consumed with longing.
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Commentary on
Jb
19:21-27
These familiar verses (“I
know that my vindicator (redeemer) lives”)
are taken from Job’s sixth response. Job is now utterly deserted. His family,
neighbors, and even (apparently) God has deserted him. Yet, in a leap of faith,
he expresses hope in the vision of God who will vindicate him and confidence
that he will one day meet him, face to face. It is this salvation and
consolation that Job desires above all else.
"For
reasons that the poet could not have anticipated, in the history of the
transmission of his text and in the history of Christian doctrine, these verses
have practically never been read in their designed context but have been
excised from their setting as a testimony to an erratic leap of faith into the
unknown. In their context, the primary intellectual stress is on Job’s
innocence which, first, he is convinced will one day be recognized, second, he
wishes for safety’s sake could be engraved on the rock, but, third, he desires
above all to be acknowledged here and now." [4]
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 27:7-8a, 8b-9abc,
13-14
R. (13) I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of
the living.
Hear, O Lord, the sound of my call;
have pity on me, and answer me.
Of you my heart speaks; you my glance seeks.
R. I believe that I shall see the good things of the
Lord in the land of the living.
Your presence, O Lord, I seek.
Hide not your face from me;
do not in anger repel your servant.
You are my helper: cast me not off.
R. I believe that I shall see the good things of the
Lord in the land of the living.
I believe that I shall see the bounty of the Lord
in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord with courage;
be stouthearted, and wait for the Lord.
R. I believe that I shall see the good things of the
Lord in the land of the living.
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Commentary on
Ps
27:7-8a, 8b-9abc, 13-14
Psalm 27 is an individual lament. In this selection from it, we
hear the psalmist asking for God to reveal himself to his faithful. He calls
the Lord, imploring him to hear the desperate prayer. The psalmist expresses
faith in God who is the refuge of the faithful, longing to find the ultimate
safety and bounty of God’s heavenly kingdom. In the final strophe the
singer expresses faith and hope that God will reveal himself in the end and for
all time.
CCC: Ps 27:8 2730
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Gospel: Luke 10:1-12
Jesus appointed seventy-two other disciples
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.”
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Commentary on
Lk
10:1-12
It is only in the Gospel of St. Luke that we hear the story of
Jesus sending the seventy (two). This event is supported by other non-biblical
writings (see Eusebius
of Caesarea (c. 265-c. 340) Church History, Vol. 1). The
instructions given to those sent out are very similar to the instructions given
to the Twelve (Matthew
10:5-16; Luke
9:1-6), as was the message they were sent to proclaim.
This selection emphasizes Jesus' early struggle to accomplish what
he came to do by himself. We sense the humanness as he says; "The harvest is abundant but the laborers are
few." We also find this event and statement in St. Matthew’s Gospel
where instead of the 72 he names the 12 (Matthew 10:1-8). While in
St. Matthew’s story Jesus sends them first to the Hebrew people, St. Luke makes
no such distinction.
This effort by Jesus was modeled on Moses’ leadership structure in
which 70 elders were appointed (Numbers 11:24-25). It is
also possible that the reference number 70 relates to the number of nations
mentioned in Genesis 10. The
disciples were sent two by two, a custom that would be replicated later in the
post-resurrection missionary activities of the Church (see Acts 8:14; 15:39-40).
In another historical similarity, the disciples were sent without
possessions, presumably depending upon the traditionally required hospitality
for their support. Similar instructions were given by the prophet Elisha as he
sent his servant in 2
Kings 4:29.
The Lord’s instructions concerning this hospitality “the laborer
deserves his payment” is also quoted in St. Paul’s first letter to Timothy
(1 Timothy 5:18b) and has
further support in 1 Corinthians 9:7, 14. Those who
labor on behalf of the Gospel and cannot take time to support themselves
deserve the support of the community. In a final twist, the Lord’s instruction
to “eat what is set before you” sets
aside Mosaic dietary laws (also 1 Corinthians 10:27 and Acts 10:25). It is a
clear indication that the scope of their mission is to call all peoples to the
Gospel.
CCC: Lk 10:1-2 765; Lk
10:2 2611; Lk
10:7 2122
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Reflection:
Standing
up for Gospel principles has never been easy. Those of us who believe that,
because this is a civilized world, it is getting easier, are in for a rude
awakening the first time we challenge the social status quo. Try taking the
high moral ground at work when the discussions get a bit “off color” and sexual
innuendo starts to fly. You will find yourself like the bad comedian who lays an
egg on stage and hears crickets chirping. In countries of the Middle East,
proclaiming the Gospel can get you killed; our own troops, there to defend the
lives of civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan, are not allowed to mention their
faith outside the compounds that house them.
The
Lord tells the seventy-two that he is sending them “like lambs among wolves.” That descriptor evoked an attitude as
well as a message. The message the Lord sent, and is sending, is one of love
for God and love of one another. That message is not welcomed by those who seek
power over others, who are focused only on their own hedonistic pleasures. They
find such talk threatening to their life styles and critical of their behaviors
(at least we hope so).
They
will not thank us for our message, conveyed in word and actions. On the
contrary they will, at best, shun us or at worst seek to do us harm: remove the
irritant. Our response to this treatment is to love them! Like little children
(thank you St. Thérèse) we are called to reach out to them asking they why they
cannot see the love God wants to share with them. As vulnerable and powerless
apostles we offer the greatest prize imaginable. And when it is rejected, we
offer it again.
Ah,
the Lord did not give us an easy mission. He calls us to be a light to the
world and a beacon of hope. We pray today for the strength to accept the small
measure of pain he endured for us so that we might continue the work he sends
us to do.
Pax
[1]
The picture is “The Disciples sent Two by Two” by James Tissot, 1886-96.
[2]
S.S. Commemoratio[3]
The readings are taken from the New American Bible,
with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the
International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is
not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.[4]
David J. A. Clines, Job 1–20, vol. 17, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word,
Incorporated, 1989), 469.
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