“…The harvest is abundant…I am sending
you…into whatever household you enter, first say, Peace…” (Luke 10:1-9)
When I read
this Gospel today, I thought of the crops that are usually more abundant in the
fall season. I thought of squash in all
of its varieties: zucchini, acorn, pumpkin.
In my (limited) experience, once planted the leaves arrive quickly, and
you watch, and watch and watch – you don’t see anything, then all of a sudden –
you can’t pick them fast enough!
The harvest
is abundant…the world is ready… for the Good News of the Gospel! Words of hope, love, forgiveness; words that
assure us that there’s a way to live together, to trust that we’re truly a
connected people – brothers and sisters in Christ. The world is ready for the despair of today
to be turned upside down – ready for transformation.
And God
sends us! Those who have heard the Word,
who have cultivated an intimate relationship with God, those who live in
hope! God sends us to be His presence in
the world – to preach with our person, our attitudes, our hopefulness, our very
presence. God sends us! Whatever our message, whatever our actions,
whatever our demeanor—we need to be sure that it is of God and not of us. We are vessels for God’s peace to enter our
world.
The world is
ready! We just need to keep watching, looking beneath the surface, leading with
peace. We just may be surprised by the yield.
We may need help harvesting. We
may even be able to share the excess, God willing!
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