25th September >> Fr. Martin’s Gospel Reflections /Homilies on Luke 9:1-6 for  Wednesday, Twenty Fifth Week in Ordinary Time: ‘Take nothing for the journey’. (2024)

25th September >> Fr. Martin’s Gospel Reflections /Homilies on Luke 9:1-6 for Wednesday, Twenty Fifth Week in Ordinary Time: ‘Take nothing for the journey’.

Wednesday, Twenty Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

Gospel (Europe, Africa, New Zealand, Australia & Canada)

Luke 9:1-6

'Take nothing for the journey'

Jesus called the Twelve together and gave them power and authority over all devils and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal. He said to them, ‘Take nothing for the journey: neither staff, nor haversack, nor bread, nor money; and let none of you take a spare tunic. Whatever house you enter, stay there; and when you leave, let it be from there. As for those who do not welcome you, when you leave their town shake the dust from your feet as a sign to them.’ So they set out and went from village to village proclaiming the Good News and healing everywhere.

Gospel (USA)

Luke 9:1-6

He sent them to proclaim the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick.

Jesus summoned the Twelve and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them to proclaim the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick. He said to them, “Take nothing for the journey, neither walking stick, nor sack, nor food, nor money, and let no one take a second tunic. Whatever house you enter, stay there and leave from there. And as for those who do not welcome you, when you leave that town, shake the dust from your feet in testimony against them.” Then they set out and went from village to village proclaiming the good news and curing diseases everywhere.

Reflections (4)

(i) Wednesday, Twenty Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

It is striking that in today’s gospel reading, Jesus sends out the twelve in a way that we would regard as very unprepared. They are to take nothing for the journey, neither staff, nor haversack, nor bread, nor money, nor a spare tunic. Many of us who have to set out on a journey tend to be over prepared. What was Jesus getting at? Jesus seems to be sending out the twelve in a rather vulnerable state, so that they would be forced to rely less on themselves and more on the hospitality of others. He was asking them to rely on God to provide for them in and through the hospitality of those to whom they would preach the gospel. In today’s culture there is a great emphasis on being self-sufficient. We tend to overprovide for ourselves. When that happens we can be less disposed to receiving from others, receiving from God giving to us through others. Jesus was teaching his disciples that, whereas they have a great deal to give others, the gospel of the kingdom of God, they also have a great deal to receive from others. Whereas Jesus was giving them a share in his own power and authority, yet they remained vulnerable and in need of what others could offer them. In the journey of faith, we all have to learn both to give from what the Lord has given us and to receive from what the Lord has given others. We can only do so much to prepare ourselves, because much of what we need comes to us from others. Saint Paul spoke of the church as the body of Christ in which each member had much to give to others and much to receive from others. We are interdependent on the shared journey of faith. The Lord has much to give others through us and much to give us through others.

And/Or

(ii)Wednesday, Twenty Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

When Jesus sends out the twelve on mission in this morning’s gospel reading, he calls on them to travel light. They are not to be too self-sufficient. Instead they are to depend on the hospitality of those to whom they preach the gospel. Rather than be overly self-reliant, they are to leave space for themselves to become reliant on others, to become reliant on the Lord present to them in others. We all like to be independent and self-reliant to some extent, and, indeed, we need to be. However, this morning’s gospel reading reminds us that we can never be fully self-reliant. We began life completely dependent on others, and as we come towards the end of our life we can find ourselves once more completely dependent on others. Yet, even between these two moments of high dependence, we continue to depend on others in so many ways. Throughout our lives we depend on others to bring to us what we do not have within ourselves. We can make the mistake of trying to go it alone and depriving ourselves of rich resources that others can bring to us. The Lord is always inviting us to be open to the service that he renders us in and through others. Each one of us has much to give and much to receive. The Lord who wants to serve others through us also wants to serve us through others.

And/Or

(iii) Wednesday, Twenty Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

In this morning’s gospel reading Jesus sends out the twelve whom he had earlier chosen to share in his mission. In the very next chapter of his gospel Luke reports that Jesus called and sent out a further seventy two to share in his mission, and in that context Jesus says to the seventy two, ‘the harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore, ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest’. It seems that not only are twelve not enough, but seventy two are not enough either. Prayers have to be made imploring God to keep sending labourers into the harvest. More than any other evangelist, Luke emphasizes that sharing in the Lord’s work, continuing the Lord’s mission, is not the preserve of a select few. All of us are called to do the Lord’s work, to do some labouring in the Lord’s plentiful harvest. What that might mean for any one of us is something we have to try and discern with the Lord’s help. In this morning’s gospel reading, Jesus not only sent out the twelve, he also gave them power. In sending them, he empowered them. If we respond to the Lord’s call to work in his harvest, we can be assured that the Lord will also empower us for the work he is calling us to do.

And/Or

(iv) Wednesday, Twenty Fifth week in Ordinary Time

When Jesus sent out the twelve in today’s gospel reading it may strike us as strange that he told them to take nothing for the journey. I suspect that none of us would set out on a journey without taking with us what we think we need for the journey. Most of us feel the need to be prepared for every eventuality. We like to be independent, self-sufficient, in control of our journey. In the gospel reading, however, Jesus sends out his disciples in a very vulnerable state. They are to depend on others, rather than themselves, trusting that they will be given hospitality when it is needed. They are, in a sense, to let go of the reins of control and hand control over to the Lord who will look after them in and through others. Although our own circumstances are very different from that of the twelve, there is a message here for all of us. It is, perhaps, in those situations, on those journeys, when we feel least in control that the Lord can provide for us in the most surprising ways. At the end of the day, we are not self-sufficient; we depend on the Lord for everything.

Fr. Martin Hogan, Saint John the Baptist Parish, Clontarf, Dublin, D03 AO62, Ireland.

Parish Website: www.stjohnsclontarf.ie Please join us via our webcam.

Twitter: @SJtBClontarfRC.

Facebook: St John the Baptist RC Parish, Clontarf.

Tumblr: Saint John the Baptist Parish, Clontarf, Dublin.

25th September >> Fr. Martin’s Gospel Reflections /Homilies on  Luke 9:1-6 for   Wednesday, Twenty Fifth Week in Ordinary Time: ‘Take nothing for the journey’. (2024)

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