the lake last week at sunset

 

october 5 2006

Jb 19:21-27 Job said: Pity me, pity me, O you my friends, for the hand of God has struck me! Why do you hound me as though you were divine, and insatiably prey upon me? Oh, would that my words were written down! Would that they were inscribed in a record: That with an iron chisel and with lead they were cut in the rock forever! But as for me, I know that my Vindicator lives, and that he will at last stand forth upon the dust; Whom I myself shall see: my own eyes, not another’s, shall behold him, And from my flesh I shall see God; my inmost being is consumed with longing.

Ps 27:7-8a, 8b-9abc, 13-14 R.
(13) I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.
Hear, O LORD, the sound of my call; have pity on me, and answer me. Of you my heart speaks; you my glance seeks.
R. I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.
Your presence, O LORD, I seek.Hide not your face from me;do not in anger repel your servant. You are my helper: cast me not off.
R. I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.
I believe that I shall see the bounty of the LORD in the land of the living.Wait for the LORD with courage; be stouthearted, and wait for the LORD.
R. I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.

Lk 10:1-12 Jesus appointed seventy-two other disciples whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit. He said to them,“The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest. Go on your way; behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves. Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals; and greet no one along the way. Into whatever house you enter, first say,‘Peace to this household.’ If a peaceful person lives there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. Stay in the same house and eat and drink what is offered to you, for the laborer deserves his payment. Do not move about from one house to another. Whatever town you enter and they welcome you, eat what is set before you, cure the sick in it and say to them, ‘The Kingdom of God is at hand for you.’ Whatever town you enter and they do not receive you, go out into the streets and say,‘The dust of your town that clings to our feet,even that we shake off against you.’ Yet know this: the Kingdom of God is at hand. I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom on that day than for that town.”

The disciples are to travel light and not spend time with those who do not welcome them. They are to carry no money, no extra sandals or sack. They are relying only on God and the kindness of strangers on their mission. I am not sure of the significance of the seventy two disciples as a number but I know that in the Hebrew culture numbers had great meanings.

Job in the depths of his suffering longs to see God and states that he is sure that he will see God. This is part of his strength, his steadfast conviction that he belongs to God who has never abandoned him. The psalm is also about seeing the Lord and remaining steadfast in faith.

I need most of all to remember that the disciples traveled light relying on the Lord. I have a tendency to bring all sorts of things on my journeys always a few more extras than what I have planned on. I think it leads to relying on things: books, notes, tools and such rather than an inner sense and accumulated and thought out knowledge of what needs to be done. Using less tools and extra helps can provide a more concentrated focus on what is important and allow less distraction from the things that are not. Simplicity and reliance on God are strengths that I need to remind myself of in my life acts today.
I also pray for a giving compassionate heart for all those who I encounter today.