Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time


God Needs Us - The Gospel Does Not Depend on Force

First Reading (Is 66: 10-14): God wants to give peace and consolation to Jerusalem
Second Reading (Gal 6: 14-18): Each of us must become a new person
Gospel (Lk 10: 1-12, 17-20): Seventy-two disciples are sent out to preach the Gospel
Chinese classics:
-“If Heaven had wished to let this cause of truth perish, then I, a mortal who survived, should not have had such a relation to that cause. While Heaven does notwantt the cause of truth to perish, what can the people of Kwang do to me?” (1)

After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. He said to them,‘The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest. Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals,... say to them. ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’”(Lk 10: 1-4, 9)“

'The kingdom of heaven' is near. God had already decided to reorganize history and restore the world order that existed at the time of creation.

Our God is not a high, far- away Spirit waiting for people to worship Him. Our God cares about all of humankind. God has personally entered into human history, sharing everything with us and becoming involved in all our activities.

But God does not manage the world directly. Through parents God teaches children what love is, through teachers God teaches students how to behave as human beings, through nature God shows us His own goodness and beauty, through the ‘signs of the times' God lets us know His will and plans, and how we can become what God wishes, light for the world, salt and yeast.

God needs our cooperation in order to carry out His plan of salvation . Even more so God need us to spread the good news of the Gospel.

That is why Jesus chose the twelve apostles, then chose another seventy-two disciples, “sending them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go.” They would complete preparations for his own personal arrival.

These twelve apostles and seventy-two others were chosen by God. They were a group of people who shared the same ideals and desires as Christ. They had been attracted by Christ's words and personality and had been touched by God's grace. In the same way as Paul, they “carried the marks of Jesus branded on their bodies.” (Gal 6: 17)

After Christ had left the world, they were his 'mouth' preaching throughout the world, his 'hands' blessing the world. They were Christ's 'body' because they had 'put on' Christ. Paul had even said, “I am now rejoicing in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am completing what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church.”(Col 1:24)

While on earth Christ needed helpers, today also Christ needs helpers. Especially when “the harvest is plentiful but the labourers are few,” Christ needs even more people to respond to his call to harvest the crops God has planted.

What are the qualifications needed by those people who respond to Christ's call, those who will be his helpers? What kind of preparation should they make?

This is what Jesus ordered: “Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals.” Matthew's Gospel says it even more clearly: “Take no gold, or silver, or copper in your belts, bag for your journey, or two tunics, or sandals, or a staff. (Mt 10: 9-10).

Perhaps we have heard this old adage, “Money does not solve all problems, but without money, no problem can be solved.” This saying may be slightly exaggerated but sometimes Jesus' words are somewhat exaggerated. He needs to use this kind of exaggerated phrases in order to help us understand this: preaching the gospel does not depend on gold or silver coins or money, or other kinds of secular power, especially worldly authority. This is because the Gospel itself has its own power.

Those who preach the Gospel do not need to carry backpacks, extra sets of clothing, walking sticks or other similar baggage. Preachers of the Word are to travel lightly. “Fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace... Take the shield of faith … the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit.” (cf Phil 6: 13-17)

Confucius taught in a time of turmoil. His faith came from the patronage of Heaven as well as his self-consciousness of the mission heaven had sent him. That was why he could say, “If Heaven had wished to let this cause of truth perish, then I, a mortal who survived, should not have had such a relation to that cause. While Heaven does want the cause of truth to perish, what can the people of Kwang do to me?” What he meant was that if the heavens wanted the Chinese culture to die out, he, as a 'man who would die later' would not be able to get in touch with that culture. From this it could be seen that the heavens did not want that culture to die out. And if the heavens did not want Chinese culture to disappear, neither the people of Kwang nor anyone else who wanted to persecute Confucius would be able to stop Confucius promoting that culture or do anything to him.

Men and women religious make three vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. All clerics also want to have that kind of spirit. This is not only because they prefer to be detached from any person or material possession, but because they want to walk freely with their Creator and live lightheartedly in this world, so that they can become the most sincere and perfect witnesses to the Gospel.

However these people must also have Confucius' understanding and awareness that their lives are a gift from God and their abilities should be used for the Lord. They must recognize that 'the signs of the tines' which they themselves perceive are God's words and their own awareness and concern for others, the world and the church, are already God's call. God needs us!

(1)天之將喪斯文也,後死者不得與於斯文也;天之未喪斯文也,匡人其如予何?