Dear Parishioner,
The readings this Sunday speak of mission, joy, and peace. In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus sends out seventy-two disciples in pairs, asking them to carry no money bag, no knapsack, no sandals. It’s an unusual kind of preparation for a journey: no provisions, no money – nothing.
Why is that, why does he send them out like that? Because the mission isn’t theirs, it’s Jesus’. In a way the disciples mirror John the Baptist, they go ahead of Jesus, preparing the way. But it’s His peace, His power, and His message they carry. When they return, they are full of joy, amazed that “Even the demons are subject to us in your name!” But Jesus gently redirects their excitement: “Do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
It’s a great reminder that success in spreading the good news isn’t measured by results or recognition, but by faithfulness. Being known and loved by God is our deepest joy. Sometimes we need reminding that we don’t have to earn God’s approval, his love is already given. The reading from Isaiah gives us an image of Jerusalem as a mother, comforting her children. God’s love is not distant or abstract; it’s personal, it’s nurturing and overflowing with compassion. “As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you”. These are words of comfort for all of us.
There’s a quiet unity across the readings. Isaiah speaks of God’s comfort. Paul points to the transforming power of the cross. And Jesus entrusts the mission to ordinary disciples, whose real strength lies not in what they carry but in who sends them.
And what about us?
Like the seventy-two, we to are sent…. into our homes, our workplaces, our communities to be bearers of peace. Not with loud voices or persuasive arguments, but with lives that radiate a quiet confidence of those who know they are loved. We don’t go out alone, but together. We don’t go out fully equipped but fully entrusted to God.
And we return, week by week, to this place, to the Eucharist, to our parish family, to rejoice not in our achievements, but in God’s faithfulness. That our names are written in heaven.
May we walk gently this week, in the certain knowledge that Christ is both ahead of us and beside us. And may we share His peace wherever we go.
Yours in Christ,
Deacon Ian
