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Lectio divina Luke 10: 1-16

Text

Luke 10: 1-16

Motivation and problems

The choice of this Lucan passage was guided by the title:1. Chapter II of our Constitutions: TOGETHER FOR THE MISSION 2. Article 1: APOSTOLIC COMMUNITY 3. Article 2: FRATERNAL COMMUNITY

• What light or lights does Luke's text shed on this chapter of the Constitutions?
• What keys does it give me to deepen the reading, reflection and appropriation of this part of the Constitutions?

I will not meditate on all the verses. I have preferred to limit myself to v. 1.We have chosen to limit ourselves to verses 1-16, which deal with the Lord's instructions before the disciples go on mission, while verses 17-20 are more dedicated to the evaluation of the mission carried out. These are 2 complementary micro-units, since the listeners of the discourse are the same: the disciples. However, each micro-unit can be meditated on its own.

Delimitation of the passage

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Lectio divina Luke 10: 1-16

Structure and characteristics

of the passage

Situation in the literary context of the Gospel of Luke

Meditation

v.1 : After this, the Lord appointed seventy-two others, and sent them two by two to go before him in all the cities and places where he was to go.

This first verse presents 2 categories of people according to their respective roles: one, the Lord (Jesus) and the other, the disciples. Needless to say, the relationship between these 2 types of people cannot be one of equality. The Lord has authority over the disciples, and what He says is more important.

…the Lord appointed 72 other disciples

After...

…and sent them out two by two

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It is Jesus who appoints them and sends them on mission: the mission is therefore not a personal initiative of the disciples, nor an optional activity, but a mandate entrusted to them by the Lord. Designation here means investiture. The mission is received, not attributed. The question today: how do we know that a mission comes from God? The number of disciples, 72, is generally interpreted in the sense of universality: the 72 thus represent all the peoples of the world (cf. Gen 10:2-31 LXX). In other words, the mission is intended for all nations, for all humanity. There is, therefore, no preferential place.

Lectio divina Luke 10: 1-16

To continue: re-read Articles 10-22 of the Constitutions

Is living in apostolic community fulfilling the Lord's will?

What is my willingness to live "together for the mission"? How do I live it concretely?

Is "Together for the Mission" for me an imitation and a continuation of the life and ministry of Jesus?

v.1: introduction in the form of a context. vv.2-16: Jesus' speech interrupted by the narrator's intrusion in v.17. This discourse is full of 10 imperatives (verbs in the imperative mood) that can be understood as mission directives. Jesus gives instructions that the disciples are to follow.These various imperatives or exhortations set forth "the methods and objectives of missionary action ". Hence, they were one of the sources of the Church's norms of evangelization.

Structure and characteristics

of the passage

On the other hand, the mission of the 72 is not entirely different from that of the Twelve in Lk 9:2-5: the same instructions are given: - not to take anything with oneself - to proclaim the Kingdom of God - to perform healings - to stay in some house - Shake dust off your feet if they are not welcome.There is therefore continuity between the activities of the Twelve and those of the 72. The mission remains substantially the same, but the actors vary. The mission remains substantially the same, but the actors vary: the latter do not seem, therefore, indispensable.

What does the demonstrative “what” refer to? In my opinion, 4 situations constitute the referent: - 1st: the non-acceptance of Jesus (9:51-56) - 2nd: the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head (9:57-58) - 3rd: "Let the dead bury their dead, but you go and proclaim the Kingdom of God" (9:59-60) - 4: "Whoever puts his hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the kingdom of God" (9:61-62) These 4 situations are like presuppositions (prerequisites) for the mission. In the first situation, it should be noted that the missionary may not be received. But this does not give the right to retaliation. The missionary cannot set himself up as a “merciless avenger”. On the contrary, he is called to respect the freedom and conscience of those to whom he goes.

The last 3 situations enumerate the conditions for following Jesus in the mission: total self-denial and total consecration, the prevalence or primacy of the proclamation of the Kingdom over other obligations (family or social) and the urgency of promoting and caring for life.

In short: respect for the rights and freedoms of people on the part of the missionary, total self-denial (humility) and unreserved dedication on the part of the missionary, and the primacy of the proclamation of the Kingdom of God are the bases recalled (after this) before the 72 were sent on mission.

1 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two to go before him to all the cities and places where he was to go. 2 And he said to them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Ask the owner of the fields to send out laborers for the harvest. 3 Go! I am sending you out like sheep in the midst of wolves. 4 Take no money, no bag, no shoes, and do not stop to greet anyone on the road. 5 When you enter a house, say first, "Peace descend upon this house!” 6 And if there is anyone there who is worthy to receive it that peace will rest on him; otherwise, it will return to you. 7 Stay in that same house, eating and drinking from whatever is there, for he who works deserves his wages. Do not go from house to house. 8 In the towns where you enter and are received, eat what is served to you; 9 cure your sick and say to the people, “The kingdom of God is near you.” 10 But in every city where you enter and are not received, go out into the streets and say: 11 Even the dust of this city that has clung to our feet, we will shake it off on you! Know, however, that the kingdom of God is at hand." 12 Truly I tell you, on that Day, Sodom will be treated less harshly than that city. 13 Woe to you, O Chorazin, woe to you, O Bethsaida! For if the miracles performed among you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, you would have been converted long ago, putting on sackcloth and sitting on ashes. 14 Therefore Tyre and Sidon, on the day of judgment, will be treated less harshly than you. 15 And you, Capernaum, do you think that you will be lifted up to heaven? No, you will be cast down to hell. 16 He who listens to you listens to me; he who rejects you rejects me; and he who rejects me rejects him who sent me."This is the Gospel of the Lord.

Luke 10, 1-16

The sending of the 72 on mission has a certain resonance of preparation both for the departure of Jesus (death-resurrection) and for the time of the Church. In particular, the image of "lambs in the midst of wolves" (v. 3) and the possibility of rejection (vv. 10-11, 16) open up the prospect of the opposition and hostility that both Jesus and the disciples will encounter in the course of the mission.

Lk 10 is situated almost at the beginning of Jesus' long journey to Jerusalem (9:51-19:27):

A journey marked by Jesus' determination, to the point that he "resolutely took [this] path" (9:51).

An itinerary fundamentally of freedom in the face of the many challenges (trials) that he accepted: the challenges of a bad welcome (cf. 9:51-56), of bad times or of bad intentions (cf. 11:14-23), of questioning (doubt) of one's authority, of death and of the courage to give one's life (cf. 13:31-33; 18:31-33).

A long journey during which he distilled many lessons for his disciples, giving us to understand, among other things, that the missionary path is also a place of learning for disciples (disciples are instructed in and through mission).

The mission is posed not in a solitary perspective and dynamic, but in a collective, synodal one. It implies collaboration, participation, working together, walking together. The investiture of Jesus himself (Lk 3:21-22) already included this dynamic: the Holy Spirit who descends upon him (Jesus), the voice of the Father who makes himself heard. It is an endowment with the participation of the persons of the Trinity as a communion of the Spirit and the Father in the mission of Jesus. Subsequently, many of his journeys were filled with the Holy Spirit (4:1; 4:14) or with the disciples or the twelve. Jesus was seldom alone in carrying out his mission. In this way, Christian mission in common or in community is based on the word and lived ministry of Jesus in communion with the Trinitarian individuals, with the Twelve, with the disciples (the multitudes who followed him).

Moreover, there are 3 reasons to understand this sending out two by two: - Mutual support in the mission - Bearing witness to the truth of his word (cf. Deuteronomy 19:15) - To be the living embodiment of the Gospel of peace (cf. vv.5-6).