Isaiah 66:10-16 ; Galatians 6:(1-10)14-18 ; Luke 10:1-12,16-20; Psalm 66 or 66:1-8
After this 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. Luke 10:1
I’m thinking it couldn’t have been so very easy to find the seventy who were sent out to cure the sick and proclaim the Kingdom of God ... Jesus had just explained the sacrifices needed by those who would follow him in his well known cautionary statements about the foxes and birds as well as letting the dead bury the dead and putting a hand to the plow and looking back. But maybe it was time to bring some extra help on board ... the twelve had just returned from a similar mission and though they had apparently cured diseases in their travels they had recently failed to cure a boy with convulsions, they were now arguing among themselves about which one was the greatest, and they were seriously considering fire-bombing a nearby village rather than merely shaking off the dust.
Those sent as part of the seventy had no formal training, only what they had learned from direct observations of Jesus, and some simple guidelines - there is a lot of work to be done, go quickly, travel light, work together - and a clear warning that it’s hard out there for a disciple. They went where Jesus himself intended to go .... and they returned with joy.
Tasks similar to those that the seventy faced still need doing. In fact today’s reading from Galatians as well as reading I am doing in The Fifty Homilies of Pseudo-Marcarius suggest to me that the journey of curing and proclaiming I should first take were I one of a new seventy would best be within myself. This may well be true for most of us. Surely there is work to be done ... hmmmm ... yes, there is. We should start now ... no waiting and thinking about this tomorrow. We will need to bring someone with us to help ... Anne Lamott, Macarius, William Barclay, bible passages in our iPods? And ... it will not be easy.
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