14TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (YEAR C)

1st Reading                  Isaiah 66: 10-14c

Psalm                            66:1-3a, 4-5, 6-7a, 16 and 20 (R. 1)

R:// "Cry out with joy to God, all the earth"

2nd Reading              Galatians 6: 14-18

Gospel                         Luke 10:1-12,17-20

SENT TO COMFORT

Peace and Goodness! 

After celebrating the Solemnities that follow the Easter Season, we usher ourselves to the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). Today is also the first Sunday of the new month of July. July begins the second half of the year. In the Catholic Church, July is traditionally dedicated to devotion to the Most Precious Blood of Christ. Let us derive some thought from the readings of today.

Our first reading is from Isaiah 66:10-14. It is noteworthy that we are reading from the last chapter of the book of Isaiah, particularly from the section carved out as Trito-Isaiah (Ch. 56-66). The language the author employs is that of labour and delivery. Any reader of today's first reading will immediately see the use of the imagery of a woman's womb and breastfeeding to communicate something spectacular about Jerusalem and God's people.

The message of Trito-Isaiah is salvation and restoration. Why? Jerusalem had suffered destruction. The Temple was destroyed, and the inhabitants have been sent into exile in Babylon, leaving the weak and vulnerable behind. There will surely be no room for "rejoicing". Jerusalem is bereaved. God intends to save and restore the situation. There are three levels of restoration, realised in the first reading.

The first level of restoration is the "woman". Jerusalem was likened to a "woman," as the author projects the city as a mother. Let us go back a few verses to verse 7 and see what the restoration of the woman would look like. In Isaiah 66:7, God said of Jerusalem, “Before she was in labour, she delivered; before her pain came, she gave birth to a boy". Biologically, it is impossible for a woman to give birth without labour pains. If this woman will experience this, then the kind of relief that she is to find will only be orchestrated by God Himself. Her children have been taken away, yet she stands the chance of bringing forth again. Should Jerusalem (the mother) wait to experience another pain before she increases in number again? God wishes that her joys surpass her pain because she has seen and experienced enough pain. 

The second level of restoration relates to her children. Within context, the children will return home from exile. These are her new borns. To return and find the land in disarray will be a source of worry to them. The home should be capable of providing for the needs of children. When home was restored and ready to receive the children, the children were also restored. These returned exiles will find "comfort". Thus, "in Jerusalem you shall find your comfort" (Isa. 66:13b). The Hebrew word translated as "comfort" is "NACHAM". This word means "consolation". It has the nuance of "to breathe strongly", which is to find great relief. What the returned exiles are experiencing is a kind of relief that has not been felt in years. By the way, NACHAM is related to the name NAHUM, the name of a popular prophet in the Old Testament. Nahum means consolation. 

The third level of restoration, I suggest, is the depth of relief that the returned exiles are experiencing. Those who are to rejoice with Jerusalem, which heavily includes the left-behind weak inhabitants and the returned exiles, will be nursed and be satisfied from her consoling breast (Isa. 66: 11). The image there is a mother feeding her baby with MILK. Remember that the land they occupy now is described as flowing with MILK and Honey (Exod. 3:8; Deut. 8: 7-10). What it means is that they find their return home as already consoling. They are back to their roots. The second depth of relief is that "...and all your BODIES shall flourish like grass..." (Isa. 66: 14). The word translated as BODIES is " 'ETSEM ", which can be translated as BONES. The appearance of Bones is a sign of death and lifelessness. Remember Ezekiel's vision of the dry bones (Ezekiel 37: 1-14). If they shall flourish, then life is being restored.

The Gospel passage is from Luke 10:1-12,17-20. It is the account of Jesus sending out his disciples. Some versions have 70 disciples sent out, while others have 72 sent out. If we should see Jesus as the new Moses, something at the heart of the author of the Gospel of Luke, then we could easily settle for 70 disciples to align with the 70 elders appointed by Moses in the desert (Num. 11: 16-30). 

The narrative continues by telling that Jesus sent them out in pairs to all the towns and places he himself was to visit. The number two is a number of witnessing (Deut. 17: 16; 19:15). You need a second person to defend and protect you on such a journey. They were sent to 35 or 36 towns and places. Some of these places will require a witness' account to believe, while in other places, in times of dangers posed by robbers and wild animals, a second person will be a sure support. 

The last detail that strikes is that Jesus says, "I send you out as lambs among wolves" (Lk. 10: 3). This is quite frightening because the two images of lambs and wolves are opposites. A wolve will be ready to devour a lamb at any little and given opportunity. It surprises that Jesus does not add any further cautionary statement to this striking statement. This leaves us with a little difficulty as to how to approach that statement. 

While we may attempt to see the ever ready devouring work of wolves as a possible understanding, we may also look at the lambs. I want to suggest that the image of a lamb is that of a docile and silent animal. It is the main animal for sacrifice. Would it be possible to infer that these characters are not found with wolves and that it is possible that by living out its true and natural character, a lamb has the capability of influencing the wolves? That does not take away the fact that the Lamb will not bear wounds. A lamb is already a sacrificial animal. A disciple is a sacrifice, a lamb, in imitation of the Lamb of God. 

There are those, like Jerusalem, who stand in need of comfort and restoration. Like the 70 or 72 disciples, we are also sent out to further their comfort by our way of life. Let us walk with them in pairs, bearing witness to God's love. Remember, you are a lamb, walking in the steps of the Lamb of God, bringing gentle care and sacrificial love to all.

Pax et Bonum