Liturgy of the Word:
Is. 66:10-14;
Ps. 66:1-3, 4-5, 6-7, 16, 20;
Gal. 6:14-18;
Lk. 10:1-12, 17-20.
1. 1st Reading, Is. 66:10-14 —This beautiful lyrical passage from Isaiah speaks of the motherly love of Jerusalem for the children born of her. “Rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad because of her, all you who love her.... So that you nurse and be satisfied with her consoling breasts..... You shall nurse, carried in her arms, cradled upon her knees” (vv. 10-12).
2. Isaiah also speaks of God’s motherly love for us. “As a mother comforts her child, so shall I comfort you.” Jerusalem’s love for her people images God’s motherly love for us. We are like a child being nursed at the breasts of the mother. God is portrayed not as a father but as a mother, a beautiful image that is also found in Ps. 131:2 (see Is. 49:14-15 for a comparison of God’s love and a mother’s love, “Can a mother forget the child in her womb?”). The renowned theologian Sr. Elizabeth Johnson, CSJ, Distinguished Professor Emerita of the Catholic University of America, wrote the influential book “She Who Is, the Mystery of God in Feminist Theological Discourse” (1991).
3. Resp. Ps. 66:1-3, 4-5, 6-7, 16, 20
“Shout joyfully to God, all the earth, give him glorious praise. How awesome your deeds!... All the earth falls in worship before you; they sing of your name” (vv. 1-4). Awesome, indeed are the works of God. “He changed the sea to dry land; through the river they passed on foot” (vv. 5-6). “Come and hear all you who fear God,” what God has done to me. “Blessed be God, who did not refuse my prayer and refuse his mercy” (vv. 16, 20).
4. 2nd Reading, Gal. 6:14-18 — Paul continues to explain the fundamental difference between the Mosaic law of circumcision and the Christian faith. Regardless of being circumcised or uncircumcised, what matters to Paul is being a “new creation.” In the language of 2 Cor. 5:17, being “in Christ,” Paul is a “new creation.” He now bears the mark of the Cross in his body.
5. Gospel, Lk. 10:1-12, 17-20 — Jesus appoints 72 disciples (or 70, according to some Alexandrian and Caesarean texts) and sends them in pairs to every town and place that he intended to visit (v.1). But his instructions are more than just to prepare his ways. His directives are precise, direct, and simple.
6. Go into every town and household and proclaim the kingdom. You will be like lambs among wolves (v. 3). Travel lightly, be simple; do not bring any distracting baggage. Do not look for comfort or be choosy; eat whatever is set before you (vv. 7-8). To every household proclaim peace. If you are not welcome, shake the dust off your feet as a sign of condemnation. Their punishment will be more than Sodom’s destruction (see vv. 5-12). Heal the sick and tell them that the kingdom of God is at hand (v. 9). More laborers are needed for the Kingdom because the harvest is abundant (v. 2).
7. When the disciples return with good news about devils being subject to them, Jesus says,
“I have observed Satan fall like lightning from the sky” (vv. 17-18). He tells the disciples to rejoice not because the devils are subject to them but because their names “are written in heaven” (v. 20).
8. The Liturgy of the Word urges us to rejoice in God’s ineffable love for us. Let us rejoice that we have been made a new creation; we now bear the mark of the Cross. But honor and privilege beget mission — we need to be agents of peace. We need to proclaim with our lives and deeds that God’s kingdom is present, wherever there is peace, justice, truth, and love. We pray, too, that our names may be written in heaven.
9. Prayer — O God, you raised up a fallen world in the abasement of your Son. Fill your faithful with holy joy, for on those you have rescued from slavery to sin, you bestow eternal gladness, through Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Prayers, best wishes, God bless!