July 6 | Pentecost 4, Year C
2 Kings 5:1-14
or Isaiah 66:10-14
Psalm 30 or Psalm 66:1-8
Galatians 6:(1-6), 7-16
Luke 10:1-11, 16-20
First, the 12 were sent out by Jesus, and now he sends out 72. The first mission was in Galilee, but now Jesus is blanketing Judea with his message. An important lesson is that the gospel mission is not given only to the leadership of the Church, but to her membership. It is too important, too large, and too urgent for the work to be limited to a select group.
The Church is to treat everyone everywhere as potential wheat in the fields of God. The potential harvest is enormous, and relative to its size, the time is short.
For the harvest to be accomplished, the workers must go into the fields praying to the Lord of the harvest and proclaiming the gospel. The good news is that God has kept his promise. The kingdom coming near is the proclamation that the King is among the people. The time has come when the prophecy that God would once again be the King of his people is being fulfilled. The promise made that they would be his people and that he would be their God dwelling among them is about to be a reality. The harvest is the gathering into the kingdom those who would be citizens of the kingdom. The 72 are the servants of the King delivering the invitations to the wedding banquet. Those who reject the invitation are rejecting the King at their peril. The work is dangerous and difficult because the ground has been made hard by the sin of humankind. But God, who sends out his workers, is sovereign and his harvest will be gathered according to his will.
Beginning with the Incarnation, the miracles of God being wrought in the world are all evidence of the defeat of Satan and evil in the world. The cross and the empty grave are where the victory was made certain—indeed, where it was accomplished. Sin and evil still exist in the world because the final act of the absolute cleansing of creation from the powers and principalities of Satan awaits Jesus’ return.
Satan has been removed from his self-exalted position of power over creation. Every time we do something in the name of Jesus, we are indicating to the world that the kingdom reign of Christ is coming. An analogy from history is the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. The invasion of Normandy virtually assured the Allies of victory; however, there were still many battles before the war was over. The Allied armies had to fight their way across Europe and through Germany before victory was finally realized in Berlin.
The outcome of the war against evil and sin is already determined, but we live amid the futile resistance of the secular world. Like soldiers in the Battle of the Bulge, we are being exposed to the desperate barrage of a defeated foe. It may be a struggle that the powers and principalities cannot win, but they are determined to destroy as many of their enemy as possible before they go to their determined fate.
If we focus our joy on the weapons and authority he has given us to fight the battle, when we are wounded or our colleagues become casualties, we will lose hope. Our joy is Jesus. The true joy of soldiers is not in their weapons or even the victory in battle. A battle won is only important because it brings them one step closer to the final defeat of the enemy. Their ultimate joy is being on the winning side at the end of the war so that they can return home and live in peace.
Look It Up:Â Psalm 30
Think About It:Â God turns our mourning into dancing.
The Rev. Dr. Chuck Alley, former rector of St. Matthew’s Church in Richmond, Virginia, teaches anatomy at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical School.
