Jesus is the master storyteller who provides few details in his stories. The sending of the 72 disciples is a good example. In this story, Jesus gives the 72 some general direction and a few rules to follow, but he does not provide them with a specific how-to plan. They had to fill in the details. They knew Jesus well enough to know, however, that they were to carry out his mission on their journey. His mission was to proclaim the good news and spread the kingdom of God.
Short as it is, their story provides us with three lessons. The first lesson is that spreading the kingdom of God is a collaborative effort. Ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers, yes, but Jesus did not send the 72 alone. He sent them in pairs. He also asked many others to help him in his mission along the way, and he asks the same of us. Like the 72, Jesus does not expect us to go alone. We are in this life together. Our mission is to care for each other in a collaborative, caring manner.
The second lesson is that we can expect to remain anonymous. We never learn the names of the 72. In fact, they go among wolves rather than among those who want to learn their names. Likewise, most of us will do our part in promoting the kingdom of God in our ordinary way in ordinary circumstances, and few will know us. Even though the world may not know us, Jesus will know who we are and what we did for him.
The third lesson is that we must travel lightly. Do the work. Wish others peace and good will. Then, move on. In a practical sense, that means we must rid ourselves of those things that hamper our relationship with God and with others. We must rid ourselves of all unnecessary baggage. For some, this includes ridding ourselves of the psychological burden of guilt over past mistakes and errors of judgment. Guilt is a heavy burden that slows us down and restricts our unconditional love. To be spiritually free, we must shake off the dust of past mistakes and replace our guilt with wisdom learned.
Spiritual freedom allows us to do the right thing, to imitate Christ in our daily lives. We imitate Christ best by meeting people where they are in the ordinary circumstances of their lives. As we become aware of their needs, the love of Christ empowers us to give the appropriate response. This is the good news that we bring to others.
At times, imitating Christ is a difficult challenge, especially when loving others means sacrificing our own interests—the greater the sacrifice, the greater the challenge. However difficult the task, the power of the Holy Spirit enables us to bring about the kingdom of God by bringing the love of Christ to those we meet in our daily lives.
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