Today\u2019s readings are such a big sell for welcoming the Gospel when it is preached to us that we have to scratch our heads at why anyone would not accept it. The benefits are described as the peace and security you felt as a child on your mother\u2019s lap (First Reading), joy (Second Reading), healing from illness (Gospel), liberation from the power of evil (Gospel), and your name being written in Heaven (Gospel). Today\u2019s readings teach us that welcoming the Gospel means letting it shape our lives and, above all, sharing it with others.<\/p>\n
In today\u2019s First Reading Isaiah reminds us of the joy, peace, and security that will come from welcoming the Gospel. In the latter part of the Book of Isaiah he speaks above all of the times to come. In speaking of Jerusalem his prophecy also speaks of the Church. In speaking of Jerusalem as mother he also speaks of the Church as our mother. It was not all roses: Isaiah says at one point the misfortunes of Jerusalem were cause for mourning. The sadness will give way to abundance and joy, and just as children share in the misfortunes of their mother they\u2019ll also share in her blessings. Hearing and welcoming the Gospel leads us to Baptism, which not only makes us children of God, but children of the Church as well, leading from the dark sadness and poverty of a world in sin to a new life, full of hope. Even as members of the Church today there is some sadness and poverty, but in the future, as Isaiah teaches us, those things will pass.<\/p>\n
In today\u2019s Second Reading Paul reveals the \u201cfine print\u201d of the arrangement and why we don\u2019t always welcome the Gospel, despite all the benefits it offers. We have to be crucified to the world, and the world crucified to us. Our Lord in today\u2019s Gospel describes the fate of those rejecting his disciples as worse than that of Sodom, which was the epitome of debauchery and depravity. It\u2019s not easy to become crucified to the things of this world; it means not letting those things have sway over us or they\u2019ll only lead to our destruction. In faith and hope we have to focus on the benefits of welcoming Christ, following him, and making him known.<\/p>\n
In today\u2019s Gospel Luke recalls a moment not narrated in the other Gospels: the sending out of 72 disciples. In Luke\u2019s time the Church and her mission were starting to spread far and wide. Just as Our Lord\u2019s ministry was taken up by the Twelve, little by little, with the passing of the Apostles, the other disciples had to take up the mission too. Luke reminds us that this didn\u2019t just happen after Our Lord had ascended. He sent out those disciples too. We\u2019re all called to go out and share the Gospel, just not necessarily in the same way and under the same circumstances. The instructions Our Lord gives for effective discipleship are very similar to those he gives the Twelve. Don\u2019t get bogged down in having everything you \u201cmight\u201d need. Keep it simple and stick to the essentials. Stay focused on where Our Lord is sending you. Don\u2019t make it tourism with a lot of needless side stops. Wish peace toward others in everything you do, even when it is not reciprocated. Don\u2019t abuse the hospitality you are offered as a disciple of Our Lord. If you welcome the Gospel and help others know and welcome it your name will be on the only wall of fame that matters: Heaven\u2019s.<\/p>\n
Being Christian means being commissioned to spread the Gospel, like the Seventy-Two. It is the Lord himself who sends us out. What\u2019s your mission? Your family? Your friends? Your colleagues? Your neighbors? All of the above. Don\u2019t count on anyone else bringing the Gospel if you are standing right there.<\/p>\n
Readings:\u00a0Isaiah 66:10\u201314c;\u00a0Psalm 66:1\u20137, 16, 20;\u00a0Galatians 6:14\u201318;\u00a0Luke 10:1\u201312, 17\u201320.<\/em> See also 14th Week in Ordinary Time, Sunday, Cycle C<\/a>, Tuesday<\/a>,\u00a0Wednesday<\/a>\u00a0,and\u00a0Thursday<\/a>\u00a0of the 14th Week in Ordinary Time;\u00a015th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B<\/a>;\u00a0Thursday<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Saturday<\/a>\u00a0of the 26th Week in Ordinary time, and\u00a01st Week of Advent, Saturday<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Today\u2019s readings are such a big sell for welcoming the Gospel when it is preached to us that we have to scratch our heads at why anyone would not accept it. The benefits are described as the peace and security you felt as a child on your mother\u2019s lap (First Reading), joy (Second Reading), healing … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[121,60,45,15],"class_list":["post-3382","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-cycle-c","tag-fourteenth-week","tag-ordinary-time","tag-sunday"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p65qtw-Sy","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fathernikola.org\/liturgy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3382","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fathernikola.org\/liturgy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fathernikola.org\/liturgy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fathernikola.org\/liturgy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fathernikola.org\/liturgy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3382"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/fathernikola.org\/liturgy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3382\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3383,"href":"https:\/\/fathernikola.org\/liturgy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3382\/revisions\/3383"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fathernikola.org\/liturgy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3382"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fathernikola.org\/liturgy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3382"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fathernikola.org\/liturgy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3382"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}