Harvest Time
Because you are going out among the wolves, you will carry nothing of value, so you will not be a target.
After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. He said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this house!’ And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you. Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the laborer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house. Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; cure the sick who are there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.’ I tell you, on that day it will be more tolerable for Sodom than for that town. “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the deeds of power done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But at the judgment it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? No, you will be brought down to Hades. “Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.” The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!” - Luke 10:1-17
Jesus' strategy makes a lot of sense, if we think about it.
Why make yourself a target? Go in peace and do not be a threat.
If we are going to do Christ's work, we have to go as Christ would go, for the words we speak are threatening enough to the way of life we all have become used to.
By sending out the seventy, Jesus had started to prepare for his departure, delegating the mission of his life to those who would come after him.
It is something we all need to do, for it not only reaches those we would go to if we have time, but it reaches so many more.
I think about this every day in my work feeding the hungry. How many more could we feed if we get others doing what we do?
Of course, we must be willing to let go. We need to put the mission in the hands of others and give them space to grow.
If we truly believe the time for the harvest is near, and we don't want to miss the opportunity to reap an abundance, we will take the risk and go.
So, we have to believe we have little time to act. And that is what makes it work.
More to come...