preach always and use words if neccessary ( St Francis)

1After this, the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of Him to every town and place He was about to visit. 2And He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest.

3Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. 4Carry no purse or bag or sandals. Do not greet anyone along the road.

5Whatever house you enter, begin by saying, ‘Peace to this house.’ 6If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; if not, it will return to you. 7Stay at the same house, eating and drinking whatever you are offered. For the worker is worthy of his wages. Do not move around from house to house.

8If you enter a town and they welcome you, eat whatever is set before you. 9Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God is near you.’

10But if you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go into the streets and declare, 11‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off as a testimony against you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God is near.’ 12I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.

Today I want to challenge you to meditate on this scripture for yourselves. Jesus has sent you out. Do you have a “two by two” do you have a partner in the Gospel – a co-worker. You probably have many, one in each of the different facets of your life – who are they? Pray for them.

Are you praying that God will raise up workers, in your family, work place, social circle – this is where the harvest is plentiful – many people are dealing with life and death issues in this pandemic – are you speaking into them with hope and the peace of God?

Many people may well have been hostile to your “preaching” but Jesus sends you to overcome that – the world around you is full of wolves, but as scripture said – God’s desire is for the lamb to live at peace with the wolf (Is 11:6) – God wants you to be the maker of peace with the wolves in your lives. We are to Love our enemies and win them over with the Gospel.   vs 4 b, is a call to being resolute and not to be distracted along the way – do not deviate from the task ahead. Don’t stop for chitchat – get on with the work.

We are called to enter every situation in peace and find a home with people and interact with them, serve God there and work together. We are to give ourselves to bringing healing and Kingdom values into every situation.

Spend some time today thinking about how you are applying this Gospel message to your lives and how you can fulfil the command to go out and preach the Good News. As St Francis said – “Preach always and use words if necessary.” May our lifestyle, our attitudes and our willingness to forgive, speak into the lives of those with whom we live and work. Amen

Let us pray

Almighty Father you have made of one blood all the people of the earth and sent your blessed Son to preach peace to those who are far off and those who are near: grant that people everywhere may seek after you and find you; bring the nations into your fold; pour out your spirit on all flesh and hasten the coming of your kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord . Amen