[Catholic Caucus Devotional] My Catholic Life! Catholic Daily Reflections: Testifying to the Truth

Memorial of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church

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.” Luke 10:1–3

One of the clearest safeguards for ensuring the authenticity and integrity of Christian duty is that we proclaim the Gospel in communion with others. The Christian disciple is never a lone ranger. We do not carry the mission of Christ by private inspiration or isolated insight, but in the context of the Church. The Gospel we preach is not our own. It originates in God, is handed on through Sacred Tradition, and is entrusted to the Church as a whole.

When Jesus sent out the seventy-two disciples, He sent them in pairs. This had deep theological and scriptural significance. According to Mosaic Law, the testimony of two or three witnesses was necessary to establish truth (cf. Deuteronomy 19:15). This standard was well known in Jewish culture and was traditionally applied to legal cases, but Jesus elevated it to strengthen the credibility of evangelization. Two disciples witnessing together to the truth of the Gospel would speak with a kind of moral and spiritual authority that mirrored this ancient tradition. Moreover, when we speak in union with the Church and act in concert with other faithful witnesses, our united work of evangelization becomes a harmonious echo of God’s Word rather than a solitary voice subject to distortion.

Even our Lord Himself respected this principle. When the Pharisees challenged Jesus for speaking on His own authority, He responded, “Even if I do testify on my own behalf, my testimony can be verified… I testify on my behalf and so does the Father who sent me” (cf. John 8:14, 18). Jesus makes clear that He does not speak in isolation; the Father testifies on His behalf. Thus, even the Son, in His earthly mission, models the humility of cooperative testimony.

Consider your own duty to testify to the truth of the Gospel. The Twelve whom Jesus had earlier sent represent the bishops of the Church, who form the foundation of Christ’s mission through their participation in apostolic succession. In today’s Gospel, the seventy-two represent every disciple of Christ, including each of us today. Discipleship is much more than following Jesus through a personal devotion to Him and His teachings. It also includes being sent by Him.

Once we receive the Gospel and interiorize it through living faith and prayer, we will then be sent by Christ to go forth and testify to the truth we have received. This is not an option; it’s a necessity.

How well do you do this? Sometimes we can fall into the trap of thinking that our faith is something personal that we keep to ourselves. But it is not. It must be shared, and if we are disciples, then we are also evangelists.

Reflect today on whether you are testifying to the truth in the way God is asking of you. Have you embraced both the privilege and the responsibility of being sent? Resolve to go forth with the courage of a lamb in the midst of wolves, never alone, but always in communion with Christ and His Church, bearing witness to the Kingdom that is at hand. Doing so will not only bring blessings to others, it will also deepen your faith and communion with God.

My Lord and Living Word, Your voice must go out to the ends of the earth, drawing many to You through the members of Your Mystical Body, the Church. Please draw me close to You, dear Lord, and when I am ready, send me forth with others to testify to the Truth of Your saving Word. Use me as an instrument of Your grace, that through my witness, You may draw many souls into the glory of Your Eternal Kingdom. Jesus, I trust in You.

NAVARRE BIBLE COMMENTARY(RSV)

Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (To the Greater Glory of God)

Today’s First Reading

From: Job 19:21-27

Despite everything, Job trusts in God
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[19] All my intimate friends abhor me,
amid those whom I loved have turned against me.
[20] My bones cleave to my skin and to my flesh,
and I have escaped by the skin of my teeth.
[21] Have pity on me, have pity on me, O you my friends,
for the hand of God has touched me!
[22] Why do you, like God, pursue me?
Why are you not satisfied with my flesh?

[23] Oh that my words were written!
Oh that they were inscribed in a book!
[24] Oh that with an iron pen and lead
they were graven in the rock for ever!
[25] For I know that my Redeemer lives,
and at last he will stand upon the earth;
[26] and after my skin has been thus destroyed,
then from my flesh I shall see God,
[27] whom I shall see on my side,
and my eyes shall behold, and not another.
My heart faints within me!

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Commentary:

19:21-22. This appeal to the three friends uses the same wording as used in the Psalms with reference to God: “Be merciful to me, O God, he merciful to me” (Ps 57:1; cf. 9:13; 31:9) etc. Job begs his friends to take pity on him in his misfortune and not torment him by leveling accusations as if putting themselves in the place of God. Genuine friendship implies kindness: “Mercy is the overflow of charity, which brings with it also an overflow of justice. Mercy means keeping one’s heart totally alive, throbbing in a way that is both human and divine, with a love that is strong, self-sacrificing and generous (St Josemaria Escrivá, “Friends of God,” 232).

19:25. “I know that my Redeemer lives.” As in 16:19, there is the idea of an extraordinary being coming to Job’s rescue. But in the earlier speech this personage was a witness for the defence in a lawsuit. Here, however, the redeemer (goel in Hebrew: cf. the note on Ruth 2:18-23) has an institutional meaning: according to the Law and to tradition the goel was the closest family relative, the person on whom it was incumbent to defend infringed rights, sometimes by reclaiming property unjustly seized, sometimes by redeeming the relative from slavery, and even avenging his death (cf. Ex 6:6; Lev 25:23, 47; Num 35:21). God is given the title of goel in passages that interpret the return from exile in Babylon as a form of redemption carried out in an exceptionally remarkable way (cf. Is 59:20; 60:16; 63:16; Jer 50:34).

Job solemnly proclaims his faith in his goel. It is surprising that he should apply this title to God, given that he is the one who has ill-treated and humiliated him, and it is not clear how he could be both offender and redeemer. However, God can be depicted as both, because in his profound inner tension Job appeals to God for help almost at the very same time as he makes complaint against Him (cf. 16:7-9, 21-22). In spite of its being God who has so incomprehensibly inflicted suffering on him, God is still the living God, the only one who can change the situation, if he so wills, and rehabilitate Job in the eyes of his friends. In that sense he is Job’s god. Besides, it was common practice of Jews to call on God as their goel in that period.

In line with rabbinical interpretation, St Jerome translated this term in the Vulgate as “Redemptor”, and from then on Christian tradition on interpreted it to mean the Messiah, more specifically, the risen Messiah who lives forever as mankind’s Redeemer. St Thomas, taking up this ancient tradition, commented: “Man, who was created as immortal by God, brought death to himself through sin, as we are told in Romans 5:12 [...]; only through Christ could mankind he redeemed from that sin, and this is what Job perceived with the eyes of faith. Christ redeemed us from sin by dying for us […]. Mankind itself has been restored to its fullness by being raised hack to life […], and the life of the Risen Christ will be given to all men on the day of resurrection” (“Epositio super lob,” 19, 15). And St Gregory, in his time, wrote: “Even those who are not numbered among the faithful know that Christ was scourged and jeered, that he suffered many blows and was crowned with thorns, spat upon, crucified and put to death. But I believe with certainty that he lives beyond death: I freely confess that my Saviour, who died at the hands of evil men, lives” (“Moralia in lob”. 3, 14, 54.)

“At last he will stand up on the earth [or dust]”. What Job probably means is that God’s judgment is the one which matters; compared with it all human judgments are like dust. God, who is in heaven (cf. 16:19), is the only one who, because he endures for ever, judges calmly and dispassionately.

On the basis of the Vulgate translation, which reads, “in the last day I shall rise out of the earth”, Christian tradition has read these words as an announcement of the resurrection of the dead at the end of time which is a sharing in Christ’s resurrection: “As [God] the Father possesses all life in himself, so he allowed the Son to possess life perfectly. Therefore, the first cause of the resurrection of men is the life of the Son of God” (St Thomas, “Expositio super lob,” 19, 25). St Gregory the Great puts it more simply: ‘‘Our Saviour died so that we would no longer need to live in fear of death, and he rose from the dead so that we could put our trust in the hope of resurrection (“Moralia in lob.” 3, 14, 55).

19:26. As the RSV note says, the original text is open to various interpretations, particularly the second part, “from my flesh I shall see God’’. The Spanish [and RSV], which keep close to the Hebrew, implies that Job expects to confront God directly that is, see God) despite his own great weakness. The New Vulgate adapts the Vulgate to bring it closer to the Hebrew: the Vulgate on this point interpreted how the resurrection of the dead would work: “I shall be clothed again with my skin, and in my flesh I shall see my God.’’ In line with that interpretation, the text has often been used in the tradition of the Church in connexion with the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead. For example. St Clement of Rome uses it to remind the faithful of Corinth about the promise of future resurrection; and he comments: “Therefore, with this hope we unite our souls to the One who is faithful to his promises and just in all his judgments. He who commanded us not to lie will not himself tell a lie; deception is the only thing that is impossible to God’’ (“Ad Corinthios,” 26).

However, even if Job were not speaking explicitly about the resurrection at the end of time, he clearly desires to enter into a very close relationship with God: He is his redeemer. He is the author of life, and He endures forever. Job hopes to retain a hold on life and see God “with (his) eyes” (cf. v. 27) and converse personally with Him and not with a stranger, as it were (“and not another”). The passage, therefore, is a great canticle of hope in everlasting life, spoken from the depths of misery.

Today’s Gospel Reading

From: Luke 10:1-12

The Mission of the Seventy Disciples
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[1] After this the Lord (Jesus) appointed seventy others, and sent them on ahead of Him, two by two, into every town and place where He Himself was about to come. [2] And He said to them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. [3] Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. [4] Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and salute no one on the road. [5] Whatever house you enter, first say, `Peace be to this house!' [6] And if a son of peace is there, your peace shall rest upon him; but if not, it shall return to you. [7] And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages; do not go from house to house. [8] Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you; [9] heal the sick in it and say to them, "The Kingdom of God has come near to you.' [10] But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say, [11] `Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off against you; nevertheless know this, that the Kingdom of God has come near.' [12] I tell you, it shall be more tolerable on that day for Sodom than for that town.

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Commentary:

1-12. Those who followed our Lord and received a calling from Him (cf. Luke 9:57-62) included many other disciples in addition to the Twelve (cf. Mark 2:15). We do not know who most of them were; but undoubtedly some of them were with Him all along, from when Jesus was baptized by John up to the time of His ascension--for example, Joseph called Barrabas, and Matthias (cf. Acts 1:21-26). We can also include Cleopas and his companion, whom the risen Christ appeared to on the road to Emmaus (cf. Luke 24:13-35).

From among these disciples, our Lord chooses seventy-two for a special assignment. Of them, as of the Apostles (cf. Luke 9:1-5), He demands total detachment and complete abandonment to divine providence.

From Baptism onwards every Christian is called by Christ to perform a mission. Therefore, the Church, in our Lord's name, "makes to all the laity an earnest appeal in the Lord to give a willing, noble and enthusiastic response to the voice of Christ, who at this hour is summoning them more pressingly, and to the urging of the Holy Spirit.

The younger generation should feel this call to be addressed in a special way to themselves; they should welcome it eagerly and generously. It is the Lord Himself, by this Council, who is once more inviting all the laity to unite themselves to Him ever more intimately, to consider His interests as their own (cf. Philippians 2:5), and to join in His mission as Savior. It is the Lord who is again sending them into every town and every place where He Himself is to come (cf. Luke 10:1). He sends them on the Church's apostolate, an apostolate that is one yet has different forms and methods, an apostolate that must all the time be adapting itself to the needs of the moment; He sends them on an apostolate where they are to show themselves His cooperators, doing their full share continually in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord their labor cannot be lost (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:58)" (Vatican II, "Apostolicam Actuositatem", 33).

3-4. Christ wants to instill apostolic daring into His disciples; this is why He says, "I send you out", which leads St. John Chrysostom to comment: "This suffices to give us encouragement, to give us confidence and to ensure that we are not afraid of our assailants" ("Hom. on St. Matthew", 33). The Apostles' and disciples' boldness stemmed from their firm conviction that they were on a God-given mission: they acted, as Peter the Apostle confidently explained to the Sanhedrin, in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, "for there is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).

"And the Lord goes on," St. Gregory the Great adds, "Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and salute no one on the road.' Such should be the confidence the preacher places in God that even if he is not provided with the necessities of life, he is convinced that they will come his way. This will ensure that worry about providing temporal things for himself does not distract him from providing others with eternal things" ("In Evangelia Homiliae", 17). Apostolate calls for generous self-surrender which leads to detachment; therefore, Peter, following our Lord's commandment, when the beggar at the Beautiful Gate asked him for alms (Acts 3:2-3), said, "I have no silver or gold" ("ibid.", 3:6), "not so as to glory in his poverty", St. Ambrose points out, "but to obey the Lord's command. It is as if he were saying, `You see in me a disciple of Christ, and you ask me for gold? He gave us something much more valuable than gold, the power to act in His name. I do not have what Christ did not give me, but I do have what He did give me: In the name of Jesus Christ, arise and walk' (cf. Acts 3:6)" ("Expositio Evangelii Sec. Lucam, in loc".). Apostolate, therefore, demands detachment from material things and it also requires us to be always available, for there is an urgency about apostolic work.

"And salute no one on the road": "How can it be", St. Ambrose asks himself, "that the Lord wishes to get rid of a custom so full of kindness? Notice, how

ever, that He does not just say, `Do not salute anyone', but adds, `on the road.' And there is a reason for this.

"He also commanded Elisha not to salute anyone he met, when He sent him to lay his staff on the body of the dead child (2 Kings 4:29): He gave him this order so as to get him to do this task without delay and effect the raising of the child, and not waste time by stopping to talk to any passer-by he met. Therefore, there is no question of omitting good manners to greet others; it is a matter of removing a possible obstacle in the way of service; when God commands, human considerations should be set aside, at least for the time being. To greet a person is a good thing, but it is better to carry out a divine instruction which could easily be frustrated by a delay ("ibid.").

6. Everyone is "a son of peace" who is disposed to accept the teaching of the Gospel which brings with it God's peace. Our Lord's recommendation to His disciples to proclaim peace should be a constant feature of all the apostolic action of Christians: "Christian apostolate is not a political program or a cultural alternative. It implies the spreading of good, `infecting' others with a desire to love, sowing peace and joy" (St J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 124).

Feeling peace in our soul and in our surroundings is an unmistakable sign that God is with us, and a fruit of the Holy Spirit (cf. Galatians 5:22): "Get rid of these scruples that deprive you of peace. What takes away your peace of soul cannot come from God. When God comes to you, you will feel the truth of those greetings: My peace I give to you..., peace I leave you..., peace be with you..., and you will feel it even in the midst of troubles" (St J. Escriva, "The Way", 258).

7. Our Lord clearly considered poverty and detachment a key feature in an apostle. But He was aware of His disciples' material needs and therefore stated the principle that apostolic ministry deserves its recompense. Vatican II reminds us that we all have an obligation to contribute to the sustenance of those who generously devote themselves to the service of the Church: "Completely devoted as they are to the service of God in the fulfillment of the office entrusted to them, priests are entitled to receive a just remuneration. For `the laborer deserves his wages' (Luke 10:7), and `the Lord commanded that they who proclaim the Gospel should get their living by the Gospel' (1 Corinthians 9:14). For this reason, insofar as provision is not made from some other source for the just remuneration of priests, the faithful are bound by a real obligation of seeing to it that the necessary provision for a decent and fitting livelihood for the priests are available" (Vatican II, "Presbyterorum Ordinis", 20).

16. On the evening of the day of His resurrection, our Lord entrusts His Apostles with the mission received from the Father, endowing them with powers similar to His own (John 20:21). Some days later He will confer on Peter the primacy He had already promised him (John 21:15-17). The Pope is the successor of Peter, and the bishops the successor of the Apostles (cf. "Lumen Gentium", 20). Therefore, "Bishops who teach in communion with the Roman Pontiff are to be revered by all as witnesses of divine and Catholic truth [...]. This loyal submission of the will and intellect must be given, in a special way, to the authentic teaching authority of the Roman Pontiff, even when he does not speak "ex cathedra" (Vatican II, "Lumen Gentium", 25).

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