They Returned Rejoicing: Reflections on the Readings for the Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

Isaiah 66:10-14c
Psalm 66
Galatians 6:14-18
Luke 10:1-12, 17-20

A major theme of today’s readings is evangelization. It is clearly obvious in the gospel reading but is also part of Paul’s letter to the Galatians and indirectly in the psalm. It’s harder to see in the reading from Isaiah, but verse 5 of this chapter states (not part of the reading), “Hear the word of the LORD,” setting the context for what we read today.

By the way, those of you who might be perplexed by the sudden jump to the 14th Sunday in Ordinary time, recall that all of the Sundays in June were solemnities and therefore the readings for those feasts replaced the readings for Ordinary Time.

This segment from the last chapter of the prophet Isaiah sounds very positive and joyful. It talks about a renewal in Jerusalem. God says He will spread prosperity over Jerusalem like a river.” He also says, “in Jerusalem you shall find your comfort.” This is reminiscent of what we read at the end of the book of Revelation: “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The former heaven and the former earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. I also saw the holy city, a new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.”

Both Isaiah and Revelation come with a warning about this. Not everyone will rejoice because with the new Jerusalem comes justice. In two verses after this selection Isaiah says, “For with fire the LORD shall enter into judgment.” Similarly, in Revelation we read, “the unfaithful, the depraved, murderers, the unchaste, sorcerers, idol-worshipers, and deceivers of every sort, their lot is in the burning pool of fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” So, although the selections read at Mass don’t reflect this, reading beyond what is presented, we are reminded of the four last things: death, judgment, heaven, and hell.

It is for this reason that we are expected to spread the word about God and His message. We need to be part of the “New Evangelization.” This theme is picked up in the responsorial psalm, “sing praise to the glory of his name.” That is what the world needs to learn, the glory of God. The psalm continues, expanding on the message we need to tell, “Come and see the works of God, his tremendous deeds among the children of Adam.” God has done something great for all of us, even though we may be suffering. Bing Crosby had a song in the movie “White Christmas” called “Count Your Blessings.” Not only should we count our blessings, but we should also tell the world, “Hear now, all you who fear God, while I declare what he has done for me.” Returning to the Lord is a cause for rejoicing. Imagine if the whole world returned to the Lord, what kind of rejoicing would there be.

In the reading from Galatians, Paul is talking about just that. He has suffered, but he has turned away from the world. So now he tells the world about Jesus. “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” And as we read about a new Jerusalem, Paul talks about a new creation, which is what we became through baptism and which we continue to become through daily conversion. Conversion is a healing process. It works to repair the division between God and sinful man. It doesn’t end until we die and go to judgment. The Catechism goes on to state that we “must be converted anew every day.” (CCC 2630) (See also Catechism articles 1427, 1430, 1435, 1436, 1888).

In referring to conversion Paul also states, “Peace and mercy be to all who follow this rule.”

Evangelization is the topic of today’s gospel reading. Jesus is sending out 72 disciples to go ahead of Him to the towns He plans to visit. This is different from the time when He sent out the apostles, although He gave them similar restrictions (Matthew 10:5-25). In both cases He warned them that He was sending them out as sheep among wolves. This is an apt description for our world today and what we can expect in our own efforts at spreading the gospel.

We also see that the message is the same as the one with which Jesus began His public ministry, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17). He tells them that it will be worse for the towns that reject them and Jesus’ message than it was for Sodom.

At this point in the gospel reading we come across another gap, a number of left out verses. Basically the ones excluded today are merely Jesus telling the unrepentant towns that they will go down to the netherworld (Hell). However, there is one sentence of key import as Jesus is sending out the 72: “Whoever listens to you listens to me. Whoever rejects you rejects me. And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.” If people reject our telling them about Jesus and His message of repentance and salvation, they are not only rejecting us, but Jesus as well (and therefore God Himself).

There are many people who don’t believe in Hell or who believe that an all-merciful God would not send anyone to Hell. Today’s readings would seem to contradict such an idea. God is merciful but He is also Just. He doesn’t send anyone to Hell, they choose it by rejecting Him and His commands. God will not interfere with our free will, even if that means we reject Him. Jesus spoke more of Hell than He did of Heaven. It’s a warning and as He said so often, let those who have ears hear (Matthew 11:15, et al.). Those who downplay the warnings about Hell are deceiving themselves and others. Hell is the domain of the wolves, and we are the Lord’s sheep.

The need to evangelize applies to us as much as it did to the 72. Jesus remarks that "The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few.” We are the laborers He is asking for. As for the abundance of the harvest, look at the lost sheep of the world, unhappy and restless. They are looking for something but don’t know what. We need to help them, bring them to Jesus. The increase in suicides and despair in the U.S. and around the world is a symptom of this uneasiness between people and their lives. As St. Augustine said, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.”