This week's readings ** Isaiah 66:10-14c 'Be joyful with Jerusalem and rejoice for her, all you who love her; be exceedingly glad with her, all you who mourn over her, that you may nurse and be satisfied with her comforting breasts, that you may suck and be delighted with her bountiful bosom.' For thus says the Lord, 'Behold, I extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream; and you will be nursed, you will be carried on the hip and fondled on the knees. 'As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you; and you will be comforted in Jerusalem.' Then you will see this, and your heart will be glad, and your bones will flourish like the new grass; and the hand of the LORD will be made known to His servants, but He will be indignant toward His enemies. Galatians 6:14-18 But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. For neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. And those who will walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God. From now on let no one cause trouble for me, for I bear on my body the brand-marks of Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brethren. Amen. Luke 10:1-2, 17-20 or 10:1-9 Now after this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them in pairs ahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come. And He was saying to them, 'The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. The seventy returned with joy, saying, 'Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.' And He said to them, 'I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning. 'Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you. 'Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.' Now after this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them in pairs ahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come. And He was saying to them, 'The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. 'Go; behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. 'Carry no money belt, no bag, no shoes; and greet no one on the way. 'Whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace be to this house.' 'If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. 'Stay in that house, eating and drinking what they give you; for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not keep moving from house to house. 'Whatever city you enter and they receive you, eat what is set before you; and heal those in it who are sick, and say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.' * A longtime national and international activist in the peace movement, Bishop Gumbleton is a founding member of Pax Christi USA and an outspoken critic of the sanctions against Iraq. He has appeared on numerous radio and television programs, and has published numerous articles and reports. * Scripture texts in this work are in modified form from the American Standard Version of the Bible and are available as part of the public domain. For your convenience, the Scripture texts, as they appear in the Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 1998, 1997, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C., may be found at the website of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCC). http://www.usccb.org/nab/ ** The Web link to Pax Christi is provided as a service to our readers.

From our earliest years, we were taught that God is everywhere. There is no place where God is not. We have come to understand that this is true because God is. God is … is simply being, and where ever there is being, God is the ground of that being. So God is everywhere. Yet certain places are sacred, because in those places, we attend more carefully to God's presence. In this church, for example, we have experienced God's presence. We're used to being here and being attentive, so we say, "God is here."

Well that's the way it was with Jerusalem and the temple for the chosen people. These were very special places where they were accustomed to being aware of God's presence and blessings. That is why they said, "We rejoice in the presence of God." That is why what Isaiah proclaimed in our first lesson was so important for the people: "Rejoice for Jerusalem. Be glad for her, all you who love her. Be glad with her. Rejoice with her, all you who were in grief over her." Isaiah also told the people how God nurtures them at Jerusalem, using that very beautiful image that Jerusalem is like a mother. Then that image fades into God is the mother to them. At Jerusalem. In the temple.

When Isaiah proclaimed those words, however, there was no temple. It had been destroyed. Jerusalem was in ruins. Yet Isaiah had this marvelous vision, a dream of what could be and would be again because God had promised them. "Be glad forever and rejoice in what I create, for I create Jerusalem to be a joy. It's people to be a delight." That was God's promise, that God would be with them again, that God would bring Jerusalem into a fullness of being and life again, and that the temple will be restored.

Because God is like a mother, whose love is without limit and condition, they were confident that it would happen. As they returned from exile, they heard the call to enter into God's work and rebuild the temple, rebuild Jerusalem. The people rejoiced, because they were close to God again and God was close to them in that special place.

That dream that Isaiah proclaimed so beautifully about Jerusalem, about God's presence, especially that presence of love, did happen. But as we think about our world today, popping into our minds are images of the many places were there are disasters, violence and destruction, where people have died in huge numbers.

Think of Gaza, a city in Palestine, the very place Isaiah talked about so many thousands of years ago. There people are killed and cities and homes are destroyed. Think of Afghanistan or Iraq. Think of Sudan where over a million people have been forced to flee their homes and tens of thousands have been killed. Is there a dream for them? A vision of what could be?

Well, that's really what our Gospel lesson is about today. When Jesus sends out the 72, this is Luke's way of telling us that Jesus' followers are to go out into the whole world. Seventy-two is not just an arbitrary number. Luke picked that number deliberately. In the book of Genesis, Chapter 10, after Noah was saved, his descendants began to scatter through the earth and founded 72 nations. So this is the whole world.

Jesus sends his disciples to proclaim the good news, to say that God will create not just a new Jerusalem, but a new Gaza, a new Iraq, a new Afghanistan, a new Sudan. God will create, Jesus said, a place where people can experience the reign of God. Jesus said: "Go and tell everyone the reign of God is at hand." That is the vision. That is the dream.

And God is making it happen, there's no question about that. That's what Jesus meant when he said, "The harvest is full." But he also said, "The workers are few." There are not enough believers ready to do the work of God, which is to transform places of violence, death and suffering into places of joy and life. There are not enough believers to take God's work to the people of Gaza or Afghanistan or Iraq or Sudan. Or the city of Detroit. Jesus sends his disciples to every town and place, to the whole world, to make this happen.

If you listen to Jesus' instructs to his disciples, you discover the reign of God is brought about in a special why. It is not done through violence, war or killing. It is not done by one group triumphing over another. Look at how Jesus instructed his disciples: "Take no walking stick. No sandals. No extra bag." That would be impossible in Palestine, where Jesus lived, to travel without a stick to defend yourself and without a bag with extra food in it or change of clothing. It would be impossible to walk without sandals on the rocky paths of Palestine. So why did Jesus say this?

For one thing, if they followed Jesus' instructions, they would draw attention. And that's what prophets often do; they draw attention to themselves so people will listen as they proclaim God's word. So that is one thing.

But also, very clearly, Jesus also wanted them to go totally dependant upon God. Without a walking stick to use violence to defend yourself, without extra food and clothing, you have to depend upon God. And that is God's work. With your dependence on God, you enter into God's work, and God's work is a work of love. It can only be accomplished through love. That's the message that the disciples are to take. "Wherever you go say, 'Peace to this house.' " The peace of God will come upon that house if you come in the spirit of Jesus.

The vision can be accomplished for Gaza, for Sudan, for Afghanistan, for Iraq, not by sending armies, not by using violence, but by going there with love.

Pope John Paul expressed this message when he invited young people to be "artisans of peace." He told youth to bring "the fascinating power of love" to bear wherever they go. Have that dream of what could be, of what God is making happen, John Paul said. You can enter the dream by bringing the fascinating power of love. The message from St. Paul today is the same. He said, "I boast only in the cross of Jesus." He saw the cross as the symbol of God's unlimited, unconditional love for all of us. Jesus transformed a tool of execution, a tool of violence into a sign of love.

The way of Jesus is always the way of love.

Many hundreds of years ago, the great St. Francis of Assisi visited the Middle East during a time of violence and war. Christians thought they could bring peace to Jerusalem by invading and killing. Francis rejected that. Though he was close to death he traveled from Assisi to Palestine and walked unarmed into the camp of the sultan, the leader of the Muslim armies. Francis began to talk, dialog and understand. His visit brokered an opportunity for peace, but the Christian armies refused. They lost that chance to show that the way of Jesus could bring true peace into that area.

Today Jesus calls us to be those 72, to go out into every town and village -- to go out into our own city streets like members of our parish family are doing every week now -- to take the word of God and the peace of Jesus into every home and place. Jesus' call is also to go beyond our own city streets. We have to try to influence the way our country intervenes in other countries. We have to go to Sudan not with an army but with food and help. We have to help stop the violence in Iraq, not by more killing but by drawing people together, perhaps by as the provisional government has proposed an amnesty.

The vision is clear. Jesus wants all of us to carry his message into our world. A long time ago, when Isaiah promised what could happen for Jerusalem, the people followed the way of God and Jerusalem was rebuilt, the nation was restored, and there was peace. The same thing could happen now. The vision of peace, the reign of God breaking forth in all of those violent places on our planet could happen if every one of us who is a follower of Jesus took our responsibilities seriously and tried to live according to the way of Jesus. We would trust in God and in God's love, and we would bring the fascinating power of love to bear wherever we go -- as individuals and as a nation. Then, the vision of God's reign would be realized. Peace would happen.

As we continue to reflect on these scriptures of today we must pray, every one of us, that we can listen deeply and in our hearts hear God calling. God calls each of us: "The harvest is ready. The laborers are few." God is asking us to be those laborers. Will we respond? Will we enter into God's work? Will we make the reign of God happen? It is a tremendous challenge that God offers to us, but if we trust in God there is no doubt that vision will be realized. Then peace will come even in the most violent areas of our world.

In the name of the Father and of the son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.