14th Sunday 2016

Isaiah 66:10-14; Galatians 6:14-18; Luke 10:1-12, 17-20

While this passage from Isaiah offers consolation and comfort, the Lord’s people clearly suffered pain and grief caused by war, exile and political upheaval. However, the Lord gives life abundantly and promises a new prosperity. The last verset of the passage in full reads, “The Lord’s power shall be known to his servants, but to his enemies, his wrath.”

A piece of the consolation that the Lord offers to Jerusalem includes vindication. This seems a bit counter-human-intuitive, as we generally associate love and comfort with peace and live-let-live attitudes. While vindication was important for the Jewish people on the verge of returning to Jerusalem from exile, this sense of vindication is reframed by Jesus in the gospel.

The Lord invites us to gather those waiting and wanting to be ‘harvested.’ This mission and vision is the ‘and then what’ to God’s love, mercy and comfort. “The harvest is plenty” is a statement inspiring enthusiasm, hope and urgency. There must have been an air of excitement and high energy. The disciples return exhilarated and joyous because all they were able to do in Jesus’ name.

He doesn’t admonish them for expressing satisfaction and pleasure at their accomplishment, but does caution against self-satisfaction and pride. “Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice because your names are written in heaven.” He is advocating rejoicing; it is appropriate to be over-the-moon happy when we’ve succeeded at sharing Jesus.

This gospel continues Jesus’ theme of tolerance. He tells the disciples to accept rejection and move forward, to offer peace to those they encounter. When He tells them not to greet anyone, it is not due to a lack of respect, but greetings tended to be elaborate and time-consuming. The proclamation of the Kingdom is urgent; we can’t allow ourselves to be distracted (1).

While they failed to expel demons in Luke 9:40, they succeed in the exorcisms at this time, on this journey to Jerusalem for the Passion. Jesus has affirmed and confirmed the rightness of this mission, this mission of the Early Church, by sharing His vision of the fall of Satan. As Jesus sees all things, He knows of the hardships in store for both himself and the disciples, yet, He shares a vision of triumph. By imparting this vision, Jesus is focusing on the role of the disciples in the success of their mutual vision and mission. In this way He is revealing and prophesying about the success of the Early Church; these are some of the first moments of “Early Church.”

Mercy, tolerance and forgiving don’t seem to be in line with enemies and vindication. However, our enemies are those who distract or discourage us from proclaiming the Kingdom and we have already been vindicated through Christ’s Passion. “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.” Like Isaiah, Jesus is suggesting that safety and vindication occur as a couple. However, they do so only through the Passion.

References
The Gospel of Luke, William Barclay, 2001

Reflection Questions

Recount a time when you succeeded in bringing someone to the Lord, and/or Church. Did you celebrate in any way? Include your thoughts and feelings in regards to the balance between joy over the accomplishment and humility.
Describe a situation when you felt a sense of urgency in doing a specific task related to proclaiming the Lord’s Kingdom.
Recall a time when you were vindicated through your own efforts. Following that, recall a time when you were vindicated by the Lord. How were the two experiences different, how similar?

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