Unique to Luke is today’s reading from his Gospel. The Lord appointed 72 others whom he sent ahead of him in pairs. It seems that the early Christian community enjoyed a wide array of lay leaders, men and women who were not apostles, who spread the good news. “Behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves,” Jesus tells them, which sounds like him, the good shepherd of a couple weeks ago. They are to be vulnerable, taking nothing for the journey, not even sandals. Ouch! They are to depend on the receptivity of others. Jesus must have truly trusted the Spirit that these 70 others knew what to say because the Spirit was in their minds and hearts. I think the lesson of this Scripture is that Jesus also trusts us. Spreading the good news does not need degrees, positions, wealth or power. In this age of greater sophistication and learning, the bottom line is that it still is His message, living in our minds and hearts, that we give to others each day, in the often small and seemingly insignificant interactions and events that make up our days.
– Blog entry by Sister Mary Garascia