14th Sunday in Ordinary Time [C]<\/p>\n\n\n\n
July 7, 2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Luke 10:1-12, 17-20<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In today\u2019s Gospel, Jesus is sending His seventy disciples for a mission.\nYes, we are reading it correctly; it is not just twelve disciples, but seventy.\nWhile we are used to the celebrated mission of the Twelve, Luke informs us\nabout the less famous mission of the seventy. We are not sure who are these\npeople, but for sure, these are people who have the same commitment,\ndedication, and passion like the big names like Peter, John, Andrew, and\nMatthew. They follow Jesus, leave everything and are willing to be dispatched\ninto a difficult mission to preach the Kingdom, to heal the sick, and to drive\nout the demons. The story of the seventy disciples gives us a hint about those\ndedicated and more numerous disciples of Jesus and yet somehow forgotten. While\nthe Twelve represents the well-known figures of the Church like the pope and\nthe bishops, the seventy bring to mind the nameless yet countless priests,\nreligious men and women, and laity who are tirelessly building up the Body of\nChrists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We might also ask why seventy? If Twelve apostles represent the twelve\ntribes of Israel, what will the seventy signify? Surprisingly, when we go back\nto the Old Testament, seventy is also a significant figure. It is the sum\nnumber of the descendants of Jacob who migrated to Egypt [Gen. 46:27]. It was\nthe number of the elders who were elected to help Moses in his task in leading\nIsrael and to offer sacrifice in the wilderness [Exo 24:1]. Thus, seventy\nbecome the symbol of both Israel itself and the leaders of Israel. According to\nJewish tradition, seventy is also the number of nations that came down from\nNoah [see Gen 11]. By choosing and commissioning His seventy disciples, Jesus\nsends His message to the world that He is establishing His New Israel with its\nleaders, and this Israel will include all people from all nations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One powerful lesson we can learn from these seventy is humility. When\nthe disciples return in joy for the successful tasks, Jesus tells about\nenigmatic words, \u201cI saw Satan fall like lightning from the sky!\u201d One possible\ninterpretation is that the disciples have rendered demons powerless in the name\nof Jesus. The disciples\u2019 success is the failure of Satan. Another explanation\nis the temptation of pride. According to Christian tradition, Satan was\nformerly the highest angel who fell from heaven because he is too proud to\nserve God who became a man. Thus, Jesus reminds the disciples that their\nmission is essentially Jesus\u2019 mission, and they are nothing without Christ. It\nis much important that their names are written in heaven instead of being\nboastful about their success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Humility is a principal virtue of all disciples\u2019 identity, while\nambition and pride kill our identity as disciples. Lucifer used to be one of\nthe seraphim, the highest ranks of angels, and the name Lucifer means \u201cthe\nbearer of Light.\u201d Surely, there is no problem with serving God, but when\nLucifer knew about the plan of God the Son to become man, and be born of a\nwoman, and die for the salvation of humanity, he could not accept it. How can\nbe God as well as spiritual beings like angel serve lowly and sinful creatures\nlike humans? In his pride, he declined God\u2019s plan; he refused to serve God.\n\u201cNon Serviam.\u201d I will not serve. He and his cohorts were then banished from\nheaven, and Lucifer turns to be Satan, the chief of demons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we serve God in humility, we do not get the medals, we do not\nreceive the glory, and we are forgotten, but we are sure that our names are\nwritten in heaven.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Deacon Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
14th Sunday in Ordinary Time [C] July 7, 2019 Luke 10:1-12, 17-20 In today\u2019s Gospel, Jesus is sending His seventy disciples for a mission. Yes, we are reading it correctly; it is not just twelve disciples, but seventy. While we are used to the celebrated mission of the Twelve, Luke informs us about the less famous mission of the seventy. We are not sure who are these people, but for sure, these are people who have the same commitment, dedication,…<\/p>\n