The Mission of the Seventy
THE FEAST OF ST. LUKE THE EVANGELIST
The Rev’d Dcn. Jason VanBorssum, Homilist
Today the Church remembers and commemorates Saint Luke the Apostle, known as the “Blessed Physician.” Before unpacking this morning’s Gospel text, a few words about Luke himself. Luke was a Greek physician and Gentile of Antioch, in modern-day Syria. In the First Century, Antioch was the third-largest city of the Roman Empire and was a cosmopolitan, culturally diverse city. Although probably not from a wealthy family, Luke was certainly highly educated, being a physician. We can know this definitively because compared with the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and John, the text of Luke’s Gospel is written in a very refined, grammatically sophisticated Greek. Its structure, while that of a narrative, is akin to the style of history texts written in antiquity. The author of the third gospel and the Book of Acts – which was originally one text – the two were divided later when the New Testament canon was memorialized and finalized, Luke was also a disciple and missionary companion of Paul.
The Gospel narrative according to St. Luke is unique in that it describes the Annunciation (when the Archangel Gabriel appeared to Mary, declaring her “blessed amongst women” and chosen by God to be the Mother of Our Lord), the nativity story of Christ, and includes many parables emphasizing the compassion of Jesus, with subtle interpersonal notes and touches one might expect a medical doctor to include in his writing. The greatly beloved “Song of Mary,” the Magnificat, which has been chanted and recited in liturgies for several centuries, comes to us from Luke’s Gospel. St. Luke is represented by an ox, because he begins his Gospel account by mentioning Zacharias, a priest of the Temple, who offered sacrifices to God. This ties in with Ezekiel's vision of four animals representing the four evangelists, one of which was an ox.
Now, let’s unpack this morning’s appointed Gospel reading, which we can think of as the “Mission of the Seventy.” I’d like to read it again in more modern English and include a few additional verses so we can get a sense of the action.
10 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. 2 He said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. 3 Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. 4 Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road. 5 Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this house!’ 6 And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you. 7 Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the laborer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house. 8 Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; 9 cure the sick who are there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ 10 But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, 11 ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.’12 I tell you, on that day it will be more tolerable for Sodom than for that town.
16 “Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.” 17 The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!” 18 He said to them, “I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. 19 See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing will hurt you. 20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
Before sending them out on mission Jesus instructs an additional seventy disciples (some ancient manuscripts say seventy-two), warning them about dangers and giving them basic attitudes appropriate for traveling through life.
Luke shows that missionary work is not limited to the Twelve. The worldwide task is too great to limit it to so few. The number seventy-two or seventy probably symbolizes all the nations of the world. It also reminds us of Moses’ gathering seventy men, two more, Eldad and Medad, were left behind in the camp but were also given his spirit, to receive some of his spirit to lead the people in his absence (Numbers 11:16-25). Thus, like the Twelve, the seventy-two are related to the origins of Israel. Like Jesus and the Twelve, these seventy-two were endowed with the Holy Spirit. They prefigure the elders of the Church who will lead the communities founded in Acts. Empowered by Jesus and representing Him, they will make the Kingdom present in healing, exorcism, administration of the Sacraments, and the bestowal of messianic peace.
In verse one, the Lord appointed seventy-two. In Genesis 10 the nations were counted as seventy in the Hebrew text and seventy-two in the Greek translation, all descended from Noah and his sons. Genesis 10 lists a detailed genealogy. This is significant in terms of God’s plan of salvation. The meaning here is that Jesus is commissioning disciples to go beyond the confines of Israel to the whole world. Jesus sent them out in pairs: the purpose of pairing was not merely to provide mutual support and help, but also to meet the Law’s requirement of two witnesses for validity.
In verse two, the harvest is abundant: “Harvest” is a metaphor for the final gathering of God’s people. Elsewhere it is carried out by the angels or the Son of Man in Matthew 13:39 and Revelation 14. Here, however, Jesus shares it with His disciples who will preach in His name. He needs more workers because – like vineyards, orchards, and fields still today – the crop must be quickly picked before it spoils. Ask the master of the harvest to send laborers for his harvest: the very people Jesus is telling to pray for more help are the very ones He sends. Even more, will be needed. The harvest is a worldwide task that will take countless centuries to finish. We’re still working on it!
In verse three, like lambs among wolves, these disciples are not to let themselves become overwhelmed by “first fervor,” which quickly fades in the face of difficulty. They are not to let their dreams of instant and easy success substitute for real commitment. Their task will not be easy. Their trials will not be enviable. Their enemy will not be immediately obvious. They must be realistic, not naïve. In verse four, they are to depend on no equipment of their own: no wallet, purse, suitcase, backpack or sandals, presumably a spare pair. They are to go “as is” and not dally over inconsequential frivolities, single-mindedly focused on the goal. Remember this is set in the context of Jesus’s journey to Jerusalem, His goal, begun in Luke 9:51 where he “resolutely determined” to go there. Thus they will show by behavior their trust in God and show by their poverty, charity, selflessness, and peacefulness that they have the character of Christ.
In verses five to eight, Jesus commands His disciples to pronounce peace. Bidding “peace” would be the normal cultural greeting – shalom aleichem. When arriving at a new place, the disciple of Jesus is to give the occupants a liturgical greeting – “peace to those who dwell here.” The disciple is a missionary, one sent by the Father as Jesus was, and is to practice a kind of humble poverty of spirit. But Christ’s peace is a gift to be accepted or rejected. If rejected, the blessing is forfeited. Move on. If accepted, stay. Do not pick only the biggest homes to stay in. Peace, not comfort, is the criterion. Eat what they have in disregard for the food taboos of the Law as well as personal preferences. The mission is too urgent to let lesser values determine or deter doing the work of the Kingdom
When we think of Jesus’s followers we think of the Twelve Apostles, but this morning’s text reveals that there were dozens more. This was a kind of “apprenticeship,” a training time while Jesus was still with them. The mission was the same as Jesus’s own ministry: “cure the sick” and “say to them, ‘the kingdom of God has come near to you.’” Jesus sends them “ahead of him … to every town and place where he himself intended to go.” He is on his way to Jerusalem and will probably travel through villages where he has not been before. Rumors of what Jesus is doing have undoubtedly spread into Samaria so the seventy emissaries will announce His coming by giving people a preview of his own work. It is also a preview of the ministry Jesus gives us today. We go “ahead of him,” bringing His message where we go. They are to travel “in pairs.” We can assume that Jesus’s directive is for safety and for mutual encouragement. If you have to do something dangerous or risky, you want to have somebody with you. It’s also a sign that “we’re in this together” as followers of Jesus. “The harvest is plentiful” is as true today as it was in Jesus’s time.
In questionnaires that ask about religious affiliation today the “nones” are the fastest-growing group. Church attendance is down, especially among young people. One of the characteristics of today’s so-called “postmodernism” is that people come up with their own religious views, not wanting or willing simply to accept what others believe. “Spiritual but not religious” is shorthand for a kind of DIY religiosity, a rather do-it-yourself well-meaning mish-mash of religious views, often from strands of many religions. These are many of the people Jesus is sending us out to today.
Jesus warned the seventy to expect resistance and rejection, and it’s the same today. More Christians are being persecuted for their faith today than at any other time in human history, including the Roman persecutions of the First Century. If not persecuted, we might meet “noneism” or other various views. Or we might meet the indifference of those in our increasingly secular society. All of us might know people who quit going to church because “I don’t need all that anymore.” In the 21st Century, the irony is that there isn’t much contained in “all that.” Expressions of Christianity that are devoid of Sacraments and sacramental life, built on a “Me ‘n Jesus” spirituality easily lose sight that the Church is the Body of Christ and that it is in the Holy Eucharist that the Church, the Body of Christ, is constituted and fulfilled. Within this matrix of “Me ‘n Jesus” spirituality, devoid of community, detached from the Apostolic Faith, it is of little wonder that many of our sisters and brothers no longer feel the need to gather on Sunday morning.
Regarding Jesus’s advice on the mission to “go light,” in our terms the equivalent advice would be, “Don’t let stuff get in the way or conflict with your ministry of the gospel.” Once you find like-minded people, work with them. “The laborers deserve to be paid” is one of the few sayings of Jesus that Paul alludes to in his letters (1 Timothy 5:18, also 1 Corinthians 9:14). In this context, it means that those sent out should let others support them while they do the missional work of the Kingdom of God. Notice that Jesus only tells them what they should do and doesn’t say anything about measuring their success. In our congregations, it’s difficult to avoid measuring success. We live with membership figures, giving levels, budgets, diocesan reports, and so on. It’s very easy to measure our work by these figures – and that’s how many people measure ministry – but that’s contrary to this text. Verse 16 echoes the opening of the story: “Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.” The ministry and the message we bring is the ministry and message that Jesus was doing. What we do and say is about Him and from Him.
We might detect a note of surprise in the report the seventy bring back to Jesus. “Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!” Was that because they didn’t know or expect what would happen? As we continue to perform our ministry together, we should never be surprised by what happens as a result of the Holy Spirit working through our faithful labors. We are not to rejoice about our success in our various ministries, but to rejoice “that your names are written in heaven,” that is, that we are part of this kingdom of God which we are proclaiming. I’d like to close with St. Teresa of Avila’s well-known saying, reminding us that now we carry on the ministry that Jesus gave us: “Christ has no body on earth but yours; no hands but yours; no feet but yours. Yours are the eyes through which the compassion of Christ looks out to the world. Yours are the feet with which He is to go about doing good. Yours are the hands with which He is to bless others now.” Amen.
