A disciple is by definition a learner, one who sits at the feet of a master or a guru for a specified time. There he learns the tricks of the trade and absorbs the spirit of the master. He is then ready to be sent out on mission, to prepare the way for the Master. We read in today's gospel that "he sent them to every town and place he himself was to visit." Today's gospel deals, obviously, with the sending out of the seventy-two disciples. The figure 72 is symbolic in that in the ancient world, people generally believed that there were 72 distinct nations on earth. So sending out the seventy-two is another way of saying that the Jesus intended his gospel for all the nations of the earth, and not exclusively his own Judean tribe or indeed for the nation of Israel. He sent them out in pairs, Luke tells us.
I'm sure many of you in your work and business lives will have often reached the conclusion that, if you really want a job done, do it yourself. In the long run, it is easier. Human beings are difficult to deal with and they complicate matters unnecessarily. However, this luxury is not available to Christianity or to Christians; its primary aim is the build up community and to restore broken relationships. People, not work, are at the heart of Christianity. As we learn from Luke today, the spreading of the gospel was not to be a solo-run by an unanchored maverick. Since the building of community was the primary aim of Jesus, that work will be done most effectively by a small community.
So he sent them out in pairs. I'm sure there must have been some unlikely, incompatible partners there, pairs who just didn't get on. And yet they were commissioned to go out, knock on every door, "and let your first words be 'Peace to this house.'" And the disciples going out had no escape in possessions or wealth, no haversack or sandals or spare tunic: all they had was the company of each other and that's where they had first to preach their peace. Peace to the companion on the journey, peace returned. Perhaps there were lambs sent out unknowingly with wolves, but it was important the by the time they reached their first village they had learned to live in peace with each other. Peace was the goal of their mission, but that mission would have been futile if they hadn't it themselves first of all.
As we know to our cost, peace cannot be imposed. You cannot screw a lid down on a bubbling cauldron of angry people. An imposed peace produces a resentful, sullen people. The Americans found out this to their cost in Iraq. The peace Jesus had in mind was a gift, not an imposition. That gift is gained and given through standing in the other fellow's shoes, viewing the world from the patch on which he stands. The Christian message would be spread by primarily witnesses rather than teachers or preachers. The human ear has more time for the silence of witness and example, than for the thunder of words. It goes without saying that the fellow at war with his neighbour is not the most effective apostle of peace.
In a few moments we'll be nourished at the great feast of peace, the Eucharist. Jesus told us in another place that if we were not at peace with our brother, we should leave our offerings there and first go and be reconciled with our brother. Then we could come back to the Eucharist to be confirmed and strengthened in what we had already done. The Eucharist is not cut off from real life. It is an extension of life; In the Sunday Eucharist we give thanks to God for what happened in our lives in the course of the week; We beg his forgiveness for the wrongs we have done and we ask for the strength and grace to live out his message in a more convinced and convincing way during the coming week.
And let us not approach this table without at least a prayer for those at other tables who are waiting for peace. We should remember in our prayers in a special way today the people of Northern Ireland who are entering upon a critical week. We pray that the day will come when lambs will not have to fear the wolves. But that day depends on all of us, and the adequacy of our response the Christian call to live at peace with all.
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