Cycle C 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Is. 66:10-4; Gal. 6:14-18; Lk. 10:1-12, 17-20

John Bunyan’s “Pilgrim’s Progress” is one the greatest works that describe the journey of human soul towards its destination.

Christian begins his journey from his home town the “City of Destruction” to the “Celestial City.” On his way he had to face numerous challenges. Finally he reached the “wicked Gate” which

would lead him to the “King’s Highway”. At the end of his journey he reaches the “Place of Deliverance”. When he steps on to the “Place of Deliverance”, the burden on his back falls down and he is relieved. There he is given the greeting of peace and he is welcomed into the “Celestial City”.

In today’s Gospel we see Jesus sending out his disciples to impart to the people greeting of peace and welcome them to the “Kingdom of God.” The Gospel says that Jesus sent out a large number of disciples. There were seventy of them.

The number seventy has great significance. It was the number of the elders who were chosen to help Moses with the task of leading and directing the people in the wilderness (Num 11:16). Again, it was the number of the Sanhedrin, the Supreme Council of Jews. The number seventy also represented the number of nations in the world. There are seventy tribes or clans listed in the Book of Genesis. In the mind of Luke, the sending of the seventy disciples was a sign that all the nations of the world are to be invited to the “Kingdom of God.”

This passage also tells us of certain supremely important things about our journey. We are to travel light. It is easy to get entangled in the things of this life.

The Poem: Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening” by Robert Frost expresses this concept in a very touching manner. The poet was travelling through the woods filled up with snow. He was tempted to stop to enjoy the beauty of the woods. But he became duty conscious and he thought,

“The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.”

Once Dr Johnson, after seeing through a great Castle remarked grimly, “These are the things which make it difficult to die.” The Earth and its fleeting allurements often blot out heaven. The advancements of science and its achievements make us feel too self- reliant and forget the reality that we are mere travellers on the Earth. We just pass by never to return. In this journey many of us are deterred by the dazzling sights along the way and forget the aim of our journey.

“Men, like nails, lose their usefulness when they lose direction and begin to bend.” Says, Walter Savage Landor. So it is of utmost importance that we should always be conscious of our goal.

Secondly, we are to concentrate on our task. When Jesus sent out His disciples they were directed to greet no man on the way. In the Old Testament we read that Elisha heard of the news of the death of the Shunemite woman’s son. He ordered his servant Gehazi to gird his loins and take up his staff in his hand and go and lay the staff on the face of the child. If anyone saluted him he was not to reply. Gehazi was entrusted with a mission. Jesus sent out His disciples in the same manner. They too were entrusted with a mission. So they were not to stop until they reached their destination. Like the Christian of the Pilgrim Progress we are on a mission and we should not be stopped by anything on the way.

When Lot and his family fled from the wicked men God commanded him to go forward and never turn back until they reached the mountain top. But Lot’s wife turned back to see what was happing behind her, and she became a salt statue.

Orpheus is a Greek mythical figure. His music was enchanting. One day he was shocked to see that his wife was dead. So he went to the underworld and played so mournfully that all the nymphs and even Hades, the god of the underworld, was moved by his music. Hades agreed to allow Eurydice, his wife to return with him to Earth on condition; he should walk in front and not look back until they both reached the upper world. He set off with Eurydice following him, and in his anxiety as soon as he reached the upper world he turned to look at her, and she vanished for the second time.


The command of Jesus to His disciples was never to stop or turn back; but to go ahead until they reached their destination. Bu in our anxiety and worries, we often tend to turn back and defy His command.

Now we are entrusted with the same mission that Jesus entrusted His disciples with, i.e., to bring God’s reign into our lives.


Satish