We Are the 72

Gosh, I love this Gospel. It is like a beacon on a stormy night. But, I think too often that we have not grasped its power. We haven’t needed to learn the challenge of this Gospel, so we haven’t. It has taken more than two centuries, but maybe now we are ready.

Let’s take a look at our Church today. We hear of waning numbers. People wandering away from the Church. We even have a large group of people called the “Nones.” The name comes from the response being often given on forms that ask for religious affiliation. People are writing, “None.”

Parents and grandparents are lamenting that their children no longer attend Church. Likewise, the elders of our Church fear the loss of faith in the next generations.

We know there is a priest shortage. There are dioceses where priests are asked to pastor one parish and two mission churches. Parishes are being merged or closed. And this is not happening in third-world nations. It is happening right here in the United States and in Europe. Countries founded on faith are floundering. Priests are aging, and almost no one is entering seminaries and convents.

We know our Churches are struggling with a dearth of vocations to the priesthood and religious life, and our congregations are both balding and greying at a great rate.

In the Ogdensburg diocese in New York, a wonderfully wise priest named Fr. Dan Keefe once said to me, “We do not have a shortage of vocations. We have a shortage of creativity and an unwillingness to follow the lead of the Holy Spirit.” He said, with a wry smile, “But, in the end, God will get His way.”

What does all of that have to do with this Gospel? Everything!  

Jesus sent out 72 — not 12 apostles — 72 followers. Jesus sent them to preach and teach, cast out demons and heal, witness and help people believe.

Jesus sent them out two by two. Our priests are not meant to minister alone. They are intended to have ministry partners for support as they share the love of God, knowledge, and faith with God’s people.

And finally, we as the people of God are not meant to sit on our duffs and let someone else do the work of sharing the faith. We must not just come to Church on Sunday and be nourished with the Bread of Life and leave the preaching, teaching, serving, and ministering to Father, Sister, and perhaps a few hired lay people. We are all the 72.

Jesus sent out 72, and they all were commissioned with the same mission. They went two by two to the villages and towns and brought the message of Jesus. They were empowered to do the work of the Gospel. And they returned overjoyed and proclaiming all that God had done through them.

Every one of us is missioned and sent by our Baptism. And there are no excuses why this doesn’t apply to any of us. We are not too old, sick, busy, or anything else. Jesus is sending us out to bring His message. We are all part of the 72. We are all responsible for the message of God’s outrageous love. We are all accountable for taking that message beyond these church doors and sharing it. We are responsible for casting out demons, healing the broken, and giving hope to the wavering. And with what joy we will return, like the 72 proclaiming how God works in us.

The Church may seem to be dying to an old way. But God is in charge. God knows where His Church is meant to grow in the future. So perhaps the Holy Spirit will give us a phoenix rising from the ashes of the old way to breathe new understanding into our Church.

We, the laity, have a responsibility to assume more leadership in our Church It isn’t just Father’s responsibility. It is ours. Our priests, deacons, and religious men and women are with us to lead and guide, but they are not meant to do it alone. Jesus sent them out two by two, all 72 of them. It is time for the Church, both hierarchy and laity, to rethink what God calls us to. We are not being called to a slow death but rather a new life. Let’s just do it without fear or hesitation. Let’s follow the lead of the Holy Spirit.

In God’s Unending Love,

Gwen