After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. 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 field. Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road. “When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will rest on them; if not, it will return to you. Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house. “When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is offered to you. Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your town we wipe from our feet as a warning to you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God has come near.’
If the harvest is plentiful and the labourers few, it doesn’t seem very logical to send two people to the same place at the same time and to visit the same place twice. No doubt human resources and travel schedules could be better organised for more efficient work. But that is not God’s logic. There are several ways this text on the disciples being sent on mission sheds light on God’s way of doing things and makes us reflect.
Firstly, it is not a lack of efficiency on Jesus’ part, but a real choice that he made, to send the disciples out two by two. Serving Jesus is not done alone. The disciples travel together, they have to trust each other, talk to each other, try to understand and support each other. They are not necessarily great friends. They don’t necessarily agree on everything. It is Jesus who brings them together because he needs them. What’s more, the disciples depend on those to whom they are sent. This dependence is not negative. The life of faith brings us into relationship with one another. The disciples take nothing for the journey; they must let themselves be welcomed by those they meet and eat what they are served. They are not self-sufficient. Companionship, welcome and fraternal hospitality are part of the life of faith.
Secondly, the disciples are not setting out to travel because of a personal project. Jesus said, “Go! I’m sending you…”. They are sent by Jesus and in his name. The source of this sending is none other than his relationship with each of his envoys. For their part, the disciples say yes to a call that precedes them, without knowing where it will lead them. What sets them on their way is trust in Jesus, a desire to share his life, his mission. The hope perhaps that this will give meaning and direction to their lives. Being sent means that you sometimes have to put your own ideas on hold, to enter into something greater, where you don’t understand everything but where you learn to trust and de-center yourself. It’s truly an inner journey!
Thirdly, Jesus sends the disciples to wherever he himself was about to go. Does this make it unnecessary or superfluous for the disciples to go before him? No not at all ! The disciples are sent to bring peace and heal the sick. Mission almost impossible, humanly speaking, one might think. It is in fact the mission of Jesus himself, the messenger of God who is the source of life, peace and healing. But Jesus associates the disciples with his own mission: where the disciples are, there is Jesus. He chooses not to do it alone, but to trust others. By this we understand that being sent on behalf of someone else does not make us passive. Being sent can never be an excuse for laziness, a botched job, or the avoidance of responsibility. To accomplish his mission, Jesus needs us to accept or even choose to allow ourselves to be associated with his mission and bring to the table our abilities, our talents.
Whatever our life situation, our path of faith, we are all sent by Christ to live fully the life given to us. Faith brings us into communion with Christ and with others. Faith moves us, sometimes takes us through unexpected paths. Faith sets us on the path to bear witness to what makes us live and share it. Nurturing within ourselves the awareness of being sent and of being on the journey with Christ and with others, could help us find our “home” in Jesus, as well as in the Christian and human community.
Have I ever brought some peace to a difficult situation? What helps me believe that Jesus himself is present there? How do “being sent” and having to make choices in life fit together?
This meditation was first given to the participants in the 2024 18-35s Week in Taizé, August 2024