Date: Sunday, July 03, 2016
I have become a bird watcher. Debbie Doyle and the 1st Grade Class had given me birdhouses and this year I had tenants. The parent birds were very active. I peaked one day and discovered three to four little birds. I worried when they stopped coming and going only to the discovered the chicks had matured and flown the coop. I observed urgency/energy in the parents feeding the little birds but also an instinctual caring for their offspring.
In our Gospel Jesus appoints 72 from his disciples and sends them on mission to announce the Kingdom of God. They are instructed to travel light and tend to the task at hand. They learn to trust in God’s providential care for them and on the hospitality they receive from those who hear the Word of God. God’s providential concern for us is beautifully described by Isaiah: “As nurslings, you shall be carried in her [Jerusalem] arms, and fondled in her lap; as a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you; in Jerusalem you shall find your comfort.” God the Father’s love is expressed in motherly tenderness.
The disciples return to Jesus rejoicing after their missionary journey. They are surprised by a power working in them. St. Paul knows this power but refuses to boast “except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Salvation is not achieved by our own efforts. It is always God’s gift. Paul bears the marks of Jesus on his body. In weakness he becomes strong. For all of us who dare to venture forth in mission, we pray to utilize the talents that God has bestowed in us but always to humbly acknowledge, if there is any success, it is always by God’s grace. Mother Teresa of Calcutta says it simply: “I am called not to be successful but to be faithful.”