Fourteenth Sunday Of Ordinary Time-C
After weeks of celebrating feasts, we return to Ordinary Time. The Gospel today recounts when Jesus commissioned his disciples in pairs to go around the surrounding towns to preach about the Kingdom of God.
Before their departure, Jesus gives the seventy-two some brief comments and instructions. He tells them the harvest is abundant, but the laborers are few. Ask the master to send more, Jesus tells them. As if the task were not challenging enough, he cautions his disciples that they will be like lambs facing wolves. Jesus, perhaps, is preparing them for some of the rejection they will encounter in their preaching.
His disciples were to go ahead empty-handed. They should not have any money bags, sacks, or sandals. They shouldn’t take any time greeting people on the way, for their mission was to the townspeople, not those on a journey. In other words, spending time in idle talk should not hinder their mission.
Once they had reached their destination and entered the house, they were to say, “Peace to this household.” If a peaceful person lived there, the peace offered by the disciples would rest upon them; if not, it would be returned to them.
To comprehend what Jesus means about peace, take a moment and reflect on peace itself. It is not an idyllic life, for every person has to endure the pains of a Fallen world. Nor is it a cessation of hostilities. It is rather a gift that, once accepted, becomes a state of being. Without the gift, a person can never achieve true peace.
Peace is the Divine gift of Christ dwelling within us. We are reminded that when Jesus was resurrected from the dead, his peace was one of the gifts he gave his Apostles. Jesus instructed them that it is not the peace that the world offers because that type of peace is not peace at all.
Peace is the human-divine interchange. A Christian who believes Christ dwells in him and lives accordingly is peaceful. Not honoring this relationship hampers the peaceful state of being. It can occur when the spiritual life is atrophied or absent. It can also happen when our conscience disturbs us by what we have done or continue to do. Peace is always absent when living in mortal sin, separating us from the grace of Christ.
The peace of a Christian living in grace changes their readiness and ability to offer peace to those they meet. More than just a readiness, it is the Divine Call to shower abundance. There is no rationing of what is given, no prediction of what or when fruit will be produced, no fretting over the possibility of what we may consider wasted effort.
By extending your peace to another person, you are promoting and strengthening the Kingdom of God, an endeavor we are all called to do. The abundance of grace God gives us is meant to be shared and passed on, and we do that by expressing peace to one another. If another does not receive your peace, it will not diminish the peace within you. Offering peace is never wasted effort.
The challenge is to receive Christ’s peace and the motivation to express it to one another openly. So many people now are without peace. You can easily discern who they might be. Be courageous, always offer your peace, even if it is returned to you. You never know what can change a non-peaceful person into one who is at peace.
Simply put, our Jesus is telling us today not to make things more complicated than they have to be. Don’t worry about figuring out the cost-benefit. Offer Divine peace and let things take care of themselves. And remember, working with Christ, nothing is ever wasted.