Daily Reflection

Reflection

After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two
ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go.
Luke 10:1-12

In his writings, Luke often refers to the Spirit animating the community. According to his narrative, these disciples were not sent out alone. There were a group of others sent on the same mission. They were sent without any necessities and no guarantees about how they were to be received. Their common mission and their mutual need was their strength and support. Luke often stresses that the Spirit active in Jesus is also in those who will continue his mission in the world.  He sees the same Spirit who enlivened the mission of Jesus as guiding the community of his followers.

Prayer

Come Holy Spirit.

Action

If we believe that the same mission given to the disciples is also given to our present community, how should we respond? What are some small but concrete ways we can witness to the values of the gospel of Jesus?

Suggested Reading

After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road.
Luke 10:1-12

There is so much need for Christians who bear witness to the Gospel with joy in everyday life. The disciples, sent by Jesus, ‘returned with joy’.
Pope Francis

We must be global Christians with a global vision because our God is a global God.
John R.W. Stott

The mission of God’s people is not simply directed at saving people’s souls from a bad life-after-death into a good life-after-death, but it addresses and hopefully touches the injustice and violence around us—poverty, racism, sexism, economic exploitation, war, environmental destruction—where salvation, justice, and peace can merge. 
Jamie Arpin-Ricci, 

Our relationship with each other is the criterion the world uses to judge whether our message is truthful – Christian community is the final apologetic.

Francis Schaeffer

A Christian community should do as Jesus did: propose and not impose. Its attraction must lie in the radiance cast by the love of one another.

Jean Vanier

Christian ethics is not primarily an individualistic, one-on-one-with-God brand of personal holiness; rather it has to do with living the life of the Spirit in Christian community and in the world.

Gordon Fee

The certain mark by which a Christian community can be recognized is the preaching of the gospel in its purity.

Martin Luther

There is no power for change greater than a community discovering what it cares about.
Margaret J. Wheatley

The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members.
Coretta Scott King

If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.
African Proverb