“Rejoice in the Lord ALL-Ways” by Sam
Miller
“When you see
this, your heart shall rejoice.” Isaiah 66:14a
“Peace and mercy
be to all.” Galatians 6:16a
“Let the peace of
Christ control your hearts; let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.” Colossians
3:15a & 16a
At that time the
Lord appointed seventy-two others whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every
town and place he intended to visit…Whatever town you enter and they welcome
you, eat what is set before you, cure the sick in it and say to them, 'The
kingdom of God is at hand for you.'…The seventy-two returned
rejoicing, and said, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us because of
your name." Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the spirits are
subject to you, but rejoice because your names are written in heaven." Luke
10:1, 8, 9, 17 & 20
Piety
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy. Hear now, all you who fear
God, while I declare what he has done for me. Blessed be God who refused me not
my prayer or his kindness! R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy. (Psalm
66: 16 & 20 & response)
Study
Highlighting the word disjointed will get you “fragmented,
incoherent, disorganized, rambling, disorderly” in the list of synonyms. Having
applied most of those conditions to the Scriptures for today, consequently,
thus may the outcome of my reflection be.
Most significant of today’s passages to me are the last two verses in the
Responsorial Psalm, the Alleluia verse for the Gospel reading and the last
verse of the Gospel.
In the First Reading, do I really care about rejoicing and being glad with and
for Jerusalem? Not at the top of my priority list! I much prefer
the idea of my heart rejoicing, ALL of the time! In the Psalm, crying out to
God with joy, to me, would be a good thing, ALLways, even in the midst of pain,
for I do believe He is ALLways with me, showing me His constant kindness, ALLways
listening to my prayers!!! In the Second Reading, there was another discussion
going on but my preference was to concentrate on “peace and mercy being to” and
with ALL. The Alleluia verse speaks a whole volume of truth of its own to me. Finally,
in the Gospel, I prefer the phrase in the last part of the last verse!
The Lord appointed the “seventy-two others” whom He sent
ahead of him in pairs to every town and place He intended to visit. In telling
them not to pack, even money, or to greet anyone along the way, my thought was
that Jesus would make sure that everything they needed would be provided and
not get sidetracked by making new friends along the way, to just stick to the
assignment. A footnote I found explained it was “because of the urgency of the
mission and the single-mindedness required of missionaries, attachment to
material possessions should be avoided and even customary greetings should not
distract from the fulfillment of the task.” FOCUS! FOCUS!! FOCUS!!!
I appreciate that the chosen were sent in pairs. There’d
be one to speak and another to testify/verify, agree. It would have been good
for protection, support and sharing the marvels of their adventures. Besides,
without Google Maps, it may have been helpful to have someone to do “rock,
paper, scissors” in the event of their coming to a fork in the road where the signposts
did not point distinctly in the direction of their destination.
Jesus was speaking to the returning “seventy-two others”
who were rejoicing at the success they’d experienced over even casting out
demons in His name. Though not one of the seventy-two, I am a middleman, not
sent before but following in Your footsteps until You come again!!
I pray, Lord, that my name, along with everyone else I
know and love is also written in heaven!
Action
Help me, Lord, to rejoice ALLways, to live in and share
with all, Your peace and Your Word, ALLways!
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