HE SENT THEM TWO BY TWO.
THURSDAY 30th SEPTEMBER, 2021. MEMORIAL IN HONOUR OF SAINT OF SAINT JEROME, Priest and Doctor of the Church.
Jerome was an outstanding biblical scholar. He served God as a monk and devoted the whole of his life to the translation of the Bible from the original languages of Hebrew and Greek into Latin.
He studied the Scriptures throughout his life, wrote many commentaries on the Bible, promoted the monastic life, and lived a penitential life. He died in Bethlehem in the year 420 at the age of eighty.
READINGS; NEHEMIAH 8:1-12, PSALMS 19:8-11, LUKE 10:1-12.
The Church is missionary by nature and its missionary nature is taken from gospel we have read today. Jesus appoints the seventy disciples and sends them to places he was about to go and he sent them two by two.
This number two stands for witness and support, this missionary work is not for one person but for all of us. First he brings to their attention the situation on the ground that the harvest is plentiful but the labourers are few. With this situation he is commanding them to do something, that is to pray to the Lord of the harvest to send more labourers into the vineyard.
As disciples of the Lord there is something we should do, if its not to go out as missionaries, there is something to do and that is to pray that the Lord may send labourers to his vineyard. But the question is what am I doing about it? Am I that person going out or am the person praying about it?
These two groups of people are both missionaries, they are sent by the Lord while others are there to offer prayers, what group are you identifying yourself with? We have to bear in mind that we can also be both, we can be among those sent out and also among those who pray.
The Lord is saying I send you like lambs among wolves. This is also something that is very important for the disciples, yes the Lord is sending us for a mission to preach, teach and heal but you are not going to find all good people; others will be hostile, they will oppose everything you say and try to find something wrong in whatever you say and do therefore go there with a message of peace and do not retaliate, thank God if they accept the message but if they reject you shake off the dust from you feet.
Eat what they will offer, Jesus is saying the ministers have to eat what the people will offer. It is be in our minds that the ministers are in our hands we are to support and provide all that they need.
Another aspect that is worthy to note is what we find in the first reading of today which is the response we give toward the Word of God preached to us. The people of Israel responded positively to the word of God and they responded “amen, amen” meaning that they agreed to the Word of God read to them, what about us how serious do we take the word of God whenever we listen to it?
TODAY LET IS PRAY THROUGH SAINT JEROME WHO SPENT HIS ENTIRE LIFE TRANSLATING THE WORD OF HOD SO THAT WE CAN HAVE THE WORD IN THE LANGUAGE WE UNDERSTAND THAT WE MAY LOVE THE WORD OF GOD.
Ignoratio scripturorum est Ignorantio Christiest: Ignorance of Scripture is the Ignorance of Christ- St. Jerome
