Today 3rd July 2022 is the first Sunday of the month. Liturgically, it is the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time. The Gospel for today is taken from Luke 10:1-12, 17-20. In this passage, Jesus appoints some people. That is, He calls, He chooses, He selects, etc.
What did Jesus see in these people? What influenced the Lord’s appointment? What did Jesus hear about these people? Were these people the best in the world? The fact is that the Lord called.
The choice of these people is indicative of the fact that it is the Lord who calls. The Lord can use anybody for a purpose. If the Lord chose these people, then it means that He can as well choose you today. Seventy people were chosen by Jesus. Have you wondered why this particular number? What is special about figure 70? Why not just 5, 10, 15, 20, etc? Three reasons could be adduced:
• In Exodus 24:1 & Numbers 11:16, Moses appointed 70 elders to help him lead the Hebrews in the wilderness. To these people, the spirit of prophecy had been given that they might bear the burden with Moses. In appointing the 70, Jesus revived, as it were, the order or “school” of prophets which had been so long extinct.
• The number of the Sanhedrin, that is, the Supreme Council of the Jews was 70. If we relate figure 70 to this, then it would mean these people would be the helpers of Jesus.
• The number 70 had come to be the representative number of all the nations in the world. Indirectly, every nation had a representation in this instance.
• In Genesis 46:8-17, seventy males of the family of Jacob immigrated to Egypt. The choice of this figure might not just be the literal number, but the idea of movement from one end to another.
These seventy people gave a positive response to Jesus’ invitation. They said yes. They didn’t decline this task. They did as instructed.
Today, this same Jesus is calling you. He is mentioning your name. It’s not the Lord’s call, but your response to the call. If these seventy people said yes to Jesus, then you should do the same. Jesus didn’t just call these seventy people for calling sake. Rather, He called them to work, evangelize, bring the Gospel to humanity, proclaim the Word, etc.
Today, this is the same task given to you by Jesus. It has not changed. It is the same assignment. To execute this, note the following:
• Listen attentively to Jesus
• Spend time with Jesus in prayer
• Read the Holy Bible
• Speak the mind of Jesus
• Be courageous
• Don’t expect everybody to accept the Word
• Don’t quit the work of God because of persecution
Jesus could have worked alone. He could have done the work all by Himself, but He didn’t. The usage of these seventy people is an expression of collaboration, that is, working together. Today, let us be like Jesus, let us work together. On your own, you may go fast; with sensible others, you may go far. St. Teresa of Calcutta puts it: “I can do things you can’t do; you can do things I can’t do; together, we can do great things.” Finally, many years ago, it was these 70 people. They did their best. They worked for Jesus. They evangelized. They brought faith to humanity.
Today, what can you also do to advance the Word? How can you proclaim Jesus?
It is well….