Gospel: October 3, 2024
(Thursday)
26th Week in Ordinary Time
Psalter: Week 2 / (Green)
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 27: 7-8a, 8b-9abc, 13-14
I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.
1st Reading: Job 19:21-27
Have pity my friends, have pity, for God’s hand has struck me! Why do you hound me as God does? Will you never have enough of my flesh? Oh, that my words were written, or recorded on bronze with an iron tool, a chisel or engraved forever on rock! For I know that my Redeemer lives, and he, the last, will take his stand on earth. I will be there behind my skin, and in my flesh I shall see God. With my own eyes I shall see him—I am not another. How my heart yearns!
Gospel: Luke 10: 1-12
After this, the Lord appointed 72 other disciples, and sent them, two by two, ahead of him, to every town and place, where he himself was to go. And he said to them, ”The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. So you must ask the Lord of the harvest to send workers to his harvest. Courage! I am sending you like lambs among wolves. Set off without purse or bag or sandals; and do not stop at the homes of those you know.
Whatever house you enter, first bless them, saying, ‘Peace to this house!‘ If a friend of peace lives there, the peace shall rest upon that person. But if not, the blessing will return to you. Stay in that house, eating and drinking at their table, for the worker deserves to be paid. Do not move from house to house.
When they welcome you to any town, eat what they offer you. Heal the sick who are there, and say to them: ‘The kingdom of God has drawn near to you.‘
But in any town where you are not welcome, go to the marketplace and proclaim: ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off and leave with you. But know for certainty that the kingdom of God has drawn near to you.‘ I tell you, that on the Day of Judgment it will be better for Sodom than for this town.
Reflection: “Peace to this house!”
Today’s Gospel tells of the sending of the 72 disciples into mission. They were sent by Jesus like lambs in the midst of wolves. We are called to become the very symbol of peace in our world today. The image of lambs among wolves remains to be a powerful symbol. It indicates that peace and nonviolence are primordial, and that there is always a possibility for wolves to be tamed. This will only happen when we, Jesus’ disciples, continue to become instruments of peace in our world today. We counter the violent forces around us without becoming violent ourselves. St. Francis of Assisi is known as an ardent advocate of peace. There is a story about St. Francis taming the wolf of Gubbio by being kind to the ferocious animal. Hence, we are challenged to be kinder. Moreover, the Franciscan family gathers together today to celebrate the Transitus, that is, St. Francis’ passage from earthly to eternal life, when he peacefully embraced sister death after leading a life of peace even in the midst of conflicts.
