St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church
Job 19:21-27  +  Luke 10:1-12
October 1, 2020

“The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few ….”

The Church often quotes from today’s Gospel passage in her promotion of vocations.  However, these seventy-two to whom Jesus speaks are appointed and sent for a specific reason.  They are sent “ahead of” Jesus, not in His name or in His person.  They are sent “in pairs to every town and place He intended to visit.”  They are “advance teams”, if you will.  In the general sense in which they are sent ahead of Jesus, we can consider these 72 as symbolizing all baptized Christians.

Jesus offers many brief sayings in today’s Gospel passage.  Many can be singled out and meditated upon for a long period of time; for example:  “behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves.”  It’s not difficult for a Christian disciple to use these words falsely:  that is, as a justification for self-righteousness in the face of any opposition.  Nonetheless, that possibility doesn’t nullify the meaning of Jesus’ words.  At our best, we disciples are “lambs among wolves”.

While a Christian might be tempted to turn away from this “vocation” to be a lamb, we ought to take solace in two simple Gospel truths.  First, Our Savior is the Good Shepherd [John 10:11].  Second, He is also the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world [John 1:29].  Yet both of these titles that Our Savior bears make sense only within the shadow of the Cross.

St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church