First Reading: Isaiah 66:10-14
10“Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her, all you who love her; rejoice with her in joy, all you who mourn over her; 11that you may nurse and be satisfied from her consoling breast; that you may drink deeply with delight from her glorious abundance.” 12For thus says the Lord: “Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream; and you shall nurse, you shall be carried upon her hip, and bounced upon her knees. 13As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you; you shall be comforted in Jerusalem. 14You shall see, and your heart shall rejoice; your bones shall flourish like the grass; and the hand of the Lord shall be known to his servants, and he shall show his indignation against his enemies.”
Psalm 66:1-7
1Be joyful in God, all you lands; sing the glory of his name; sing the glory of his praise. 2Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds! because of your great strength your enemies cringe before you. 3All the earth bows down before you, sings to you, sings out your name.” 4Come now and see the works of God, how wonderful he is in his doing toward all people. 5He turned the sea into dry land, so that they went through the water on foot, and there we rejoiced in him. 6In his might he rules forever; his eyes keep watch over the nations; let no rebel rise up against him. 7Bless our God, you peoples; make the voice of his praise to be heard …
Second Reading: Galatians 6:1-10, 14-18
1Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. 2Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. 3For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. 5For each will have to bear his own load. 6Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches. 7Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. 8For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. 9And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. 10So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.
14But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. 16And as for all who walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God. 17From now on let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus. 18The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen.
Gospel: Luke 10:1-20
1After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go. 2And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. 3Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. 4Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road. 5Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house!’ 6And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you. 7And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages. Do not go from house to house. 8Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you. 9Heal the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ 10But 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.’ 12I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town. 13Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. 14But it will be more bearable in the judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. 15And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You shall be brought down to Hades. 16The one who hears you hears me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects him who sent me.” 17The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” 18And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. 20Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
Distracted
I think it best to simply say this up front, among the many things satan is, he is also a master distractor. Think about it, what’s the easiest way for satan to keep us from our devotional life? How about our church attendance? Helping our neighbors? Or serving in God’s kingdom. Keeping us from inviting people to church or sharing our faith? The answer is simple, distract us. Seriously, we are a people who live with distractions. And we hear this word used all the time.
For our educators, I’m sure you’ve used this word when trying to get your students to focus on their lessons. Whether it’s a child acting out in class, to wise cracks made during lectures, or even what’s going on just outside the window, trying to keep a child’s attention can, at times, be hard. And adults aren’t immune to distractions either, we hear it in the news when we hear about automobile accidents.
How often do we hear, or have heard a family member admit, I just glanced down at my phone for just a moment. Or, the music wasn’t that loud, but I never heard them coming. We all deal with distractions every day. Someone sent me a text the other day saying they were introduced to a new game for their mobile device. The object of the game is to match events with their timeline. My first response was, I don’t need another game to show me how dumb I really am. My next thought was, I have enough computer games now, I don’t have time for another!
One of the things I try to do is limit my non-productive screen time. Once a week I get a notification of how much I’ve used my tablet; I also get the same report about my cell phone usage. The raw numbers are shocking. Now to be fair, a considerable amount of my time is spent on computer devices writing devotions, doing general research and research in preparation for sermons, preparing Bible studies, keeping up with the various reports and spreadsheets, and the list goes on. I depend heavily on my digital devices in my daily life. And few can argue about the benefits of YouTube when it comes to how-to videos. I must admit, one 15-minute demonstration video can save you countless hours and quite a bit of money when it comes to do-it-yourself repairs and projects. And then there’s the technology we call TV.
We live in what’s been called the “Information Age.” We have more information at our disposal than any generation before us. We’re flooded with bits of information, or should I say “bytes” of information? I think a much better description of our time would be the “Age of Distraction.” Everyone, and everything, is struggling to get our attention. And one way to do that is to distract us from whatever we may be doing or are trying to do. Case and point, I particularly dislike the news feed at the bottom of television newscasts. I can barely concentrate on what the broadcaster is reporting, because the latest news is being run across the screen at the same time.
I heard someone comment the other day that they’re tempted to send their doctor’s bills for their high blood pressure to the television station because of these news feeds. Of course, you can say that they don’t have to watch that. You can always change the channel. Like that would help. There are just so many ways distractions can break into our lives today. Another needless bother are those pop-up ads on the device screen. I know some of those messages are supposed to be for my benefit. But I’d rather not be interrupted when I’m trying to concentrate on solving the next level of Spider Solitaire. And of course we can’t leave out one of the biggest distractions, our cell phones.
Cell phones, I believe, are the worst distractions of all. After all, they call them smart phones for a reason; they have us trained. Think about it. If a cell phone makes a noise, we stop and see what the notification is. I believe if the Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov were conducting his famous conditioning experiments today, he’d have used a cell phone instead of a bell. Look around at any gathering and as soon as a cell phone makes a sound, everyone stops to see if it’s theirs. Our cell phones have become an extension of ourselves.
I read about a church that hit a new low during the Palm Sunday processional when a member of the choir was seen answering a message on their cell phone as the choir made its way to the chancel during the opening hymn. Another pastor friend of mine experienced something similar during a wedding rehearsal. As the minister was going over the ceremony, the groom’s cell phone went off. He turned to his bride and said, “It’s for you.” Now, even at wedding rehearsals, ministers are now adding a new item to the list of reminders to things like gum chewing and such, “Please silence your cell phones during the service.” And we’ve all seen the reports concerning cell phone use and driving. Using cell phones while driving is definitely contributing to more accidents on our highways.
The sad thing is, that since we’re so bombarded with so many messages from so many sources, those sending them must constantly come up with new ways to increase the volume to enable the messages to get through. I’m told that ambulances are now changing their sirens because we’ve become so numb to their presence. It’s no wonder with everything around us clamoring for our attention, we’re more distracted than ever.
The standing joke is that Americans now have a sound bite attention span. Add to this that we’re expected to multi-task our lives, so we spend our days flitting from one thing to the next before we’ve finished the first. Sometimes it’s even difficult to accomplish a simple task like making a cup of coffee. We don’t even seem to be able to go through the process without stopping in the middle and doing something else that’s caught our attention. I’m terrible about this.
Each morning, I go into the kitchen, and I start a cup of coffee. As the Keurig coffee maker is working, I pour myself a glass of milk so I can take my morning pills. Before I drink the milk and take the pills, I prepare my instant oatmeal and get it into the microwave so that I can then take my pills, finish the coffee all in time for the microwave to complete the cooking cycle. Is the routine efficient, yes. But we’re so busy getting things done that we can’t complete one task without starting two more. You ought to see me going crazy when there are recyclables to take out and feeding the dogs are also on the morning to do list!
Now to be fair, distractions can be a good thing in that we all need a break to allow our minds to relax for a few minutes. Who doesn’t like a good game of Wordle in the morning to help wake up the mind! We also need social distractions to allow ourselves time for interaction with friends and family. And we need distractions to simply pause a moment to smell the roses as it were. It becomes a problem when we allow these distractions to dictate and dominate our lives, when distractions pull us away from what’s really important in life. Or worse, when a distraction becomes an idol in our lives.
In our gospel reading for today, Jesus chooses 72 of His disciples to go out ahead of Him to the towns He planned to visit. Much like John the Baptist, they were sent to prepare the way for His coming. First notice the urgency, and this is important for understanding how these disciples were being sent. In verse 2 we read, Jesus said, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore, pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” The Greek word for how the disciples are to pray is DEH-oh-my or beg. Jesus is urging the disciples to beg the Father for help.
Anytime we look out at our world today, we can see that there are plenty of people who need to hear the good news of the gospel. People are angry, people are searching, people are lost, and people looking to the things of this world to fill the void in their lives that only a personal relationship with Jesus can fill. In a July 2024 Lifeway Research poll, it was revealed that, “3 in 5 protestant church goers have issued at least one invitation to someone to come to church with them in the last six months. The survey [also] found that 21% of churchgoers have extended at least two invitations and 20% have extended three or more. On the surface this sounds good, but we need to read further.
Additionally, the poll found that “people age 50 or older were less likely to invite someone than people younger than 50. And Black Americans were more likely to extend invitations than any other racial demographic, while white churchgoers were the least likely.” Furthermore, “Evangelical Christians were more likely than members of other faith groups to invite someone to join them at church.” But here’s where the survey hits home, “Lutherans, meanwhile, are some of the least likely to have invited anyone in the last six months.” Why is that? Why are we afraid to invite others? Are we ashamed of our witness? Are we too busy? Laziness perhaps? What is it that prevents us from inviting others to church, or from sharing our faith with our neighbors? Jesus said, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore, [beg] the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”
Next notice the instructions Jesus sends the disciples out with, “Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road” (vss. 3-4). The disciples were to depend on God completely to supply what they needed to accomplish the task they were given. Now this doesn’t mean that they went totally unprepared. Jesus had been teaching them constantly as He traveled from place to place. Jesus also sent them with His authority to accomplish His mission.
In verse 17 we read, “The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, ‘Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!’” Like the other occasions Jesus sent disciples ahead of Him, Jesus gave them the power to heal the sick and the authority to cast out demons. Notice in verse 9 Jesus commanded the disciples to, “Heal the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’” As disciples of Jesus, He never sends us out without giving us what we need to accomplish the work of the kingdom.
Yes, we must be prepared by learning and studying God’s word. But we must also obey our call to go, knowing that Jesus will provide the things we need for the work of God’s kingdom. Jesus is aware of the difficulties we face, remember He told the disciples, “I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves” (vs. 3). It might sound ominous, but remember, Jesus is the Good Shepherd, and it’s the Shepherds job to protect His sheep. But what has all this to do with distractions?
Looking again at the instructions Jesus gave the disciples as He sent them out, He told them to “greet no one on the road” (vs. 4). This command seems like an out of place statement when you consider that the disciples’ job was to preach the good news. One could say that this statement itself can be a distraction. Jesus gave this instruction for exactly this reason. It wasn’t intended for the disciples to be unfriendly, it was said so that they would remain focused on the task at hand. Jesus gave this instruction to underscore the importance of the task for which they were being sent. Another thing we need to consider about our call to go and make disciples, is that the call is multifaceted.
Notice the disciples were not merely sent to proclaim the good news, but also to heal the sick, and free those held captive by demons. Our call too is multifaceted. Anytime we encounter people in need, as Christians sent by God, we’re called to do our best to meet those needs. This is why Jesus sent the disciples out in pairs. No one of us can be everything to everybody. We all have separate gifts and talents to be used of God. If we try to do everything ourselves, we can become overwhelmed. And when we allow ourselves to be overwhelmed, how can we be effective?
We must work together not only for the good of those we serve but for the good of each other. This is why St. Paul recognizes that the church is the body of Christ. Each of us has been given gifts and talents to use in the kingdom and for the mutual support of the body of Christ. When we work cooperatively, we share the burden together and no one of us becomes overwhelmed by the size of the harvest. And when we share in the work of the kingdom, each of us has time to rest and relax. We’ll each have a time of rejuvenation so that we can continue the work of the church without the distractions that come from being overwhelmed by the need that exists in our world today.
Figuring out how to not become sidetracked with all the distractions that surround us today is very much needed if we want to be part of God’s work in the harvest fields. We all live in a world where it’s getting easier and easier to get preoccupied with this or that and lose our focus. In a couple of weeks, we’ll hear the story of Mary and Martha, of how Mary “chose the better part”.
Martha’s work was important, but taking the time to sit at Jesus’ feet and learn is also an important part of being able to go and fulfill our calling as well. We must always be on guard for the devil who is constantly trying to use the many things in our lives to distract us from our important work in God’s kingdom. Mary kept her focus on what was needed for her to be effective in the kingdom. She didn’t allow the distractions around her to take her focus away from what was important and needed. The better part Mary chose was to be able to focus on what really mattered at the moment, and she became a vital part of the work Jesus did here on Earth.
Amen