Luke 10:1-11, 16-20 (NRSV)
Read Luke 10:1-11, 16-20 on biblegateway.com
Chapter 10After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. Verse 2He said to them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Verse 3Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. Verse 4Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road. Verse 5Whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace to this house!' Verse 6And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you. Verse 7Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the laborer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house. Verse 8Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; Verse 9cure the sick who are there, and say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.' Verse 10But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, Verse 11'Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.' Verse 16"Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me."
Verse 17The seventy returned with joy, saying, "Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!" Verse 18He said to them, "I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. Verse 19See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing will hurt you. Verse 20Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven."
Devotion
When I read verses 1-11, the call to evangelism seems all so simple. Jesus has a straightforward, no-nonsense evangelism strategy. Can it be that easy?
I think it can be. What I hear in Jesus’ words is that we don’t need to plan out a big campaign; we don’t need to raise huge funds to buy brochures and flyers; we don’t need to hold five-star events. Most of our congregations can’t afford that kind of stuff anyway.
What is needed is ourselves—ourselves and the courage to be vulnerable. Are we willing to walk into the “houses” of people’s lives and the complexity that comes with that? Are we willing to engage other cultures, even when it makes us super afraid? And even when we might be downright offended by their resistance or outright rejection of us, will we still say to them with grace and humility, “God and God’s love are near to you”?
Prayer
God of strength, fear often grips us—fear of what we cannot control. Help us let our guard down so we can simply love the people you call us to love. Amen.
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