Today's Word
"The harvest is rich but the labourers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send labourers to his harvest."
Luke 10:2
Today's Reflection
Jesus sends out seventy-two people. Not twelve. Not the inner circle. Seventy-two, which is to say: a crowd of ordinary people with no particular credentials.
His instructions are striking for what they leave out.
Take no purse. No haversack. No sandals.
Do not stop to greet anyone on the road. Go in, eat what is put in front of you, heal the sick, and say: the kingdom of God is close to you.
No conference. No strategy document. No marketing budget.
There is something almost reckless about the way Jesus deploys his people.
He does not wait until they are ready. He does not wait until conditions are perfect. He sends them now, with what they have, into whatever they encounter.
The harvest is rich but the labourers are few. This was true in first-century Galilee. It is equally true in whatever town, street or family you inhabit.
The people around you who are searching, grieving, drifting: they are the harvest.
You are already standing in the middle of it.
You do not need to be ready. You just need to go.
Today's Prayer
Lord of the harvest,
Here I am. I am not ready.
I do not have what I think I need.
Send me anyway.
Show me who in my small world
needs to know that the kingdom of God is close to them.
Give me the words, or give me the silence,
but let me be useful today.
Amen.
Today's Call
Think of one person in your life who seems to be searching for something.
Not necessarily for faith, just for meaning, for hope, for someone to notice them.
Do one thing today that puts you in their path.