October 18, 2024
Today’s Reading: Luke 10:1-9
Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 17:1-20; Matthew 14:1-21
“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. (Luke 10:2)
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Nothing in Jesus’ ministry happened by accident… nothing in this world happens without our Lord’s knowing it. So St. Luke records that Jesus sent out 72… to whom were they sent? What would they say? Just this… that Jesus had set His face to Jerusalem (Luke 9:51) and would be visiting them in various towns and cities on His way. Jesus sent the 72 to get the people ready. He sent them so that they wouldn’t be surprised and so that they’d talk to their friends, family, and neighbors about Jesus, the one who’d set His face to Jerusalem’s cross, was coming to them.
And here’s the thing… 72 wasn’t enough. There were countless towns and villages, countless poor, widowed, and fatherless who needed care and consolation, countless sinners steeped in their sin, drowning in guilt and remorse, shame and despair… what could 72 do among so many? Nothing is the answer… unless they were sent by the Lord, who would do something for all people. What is so endearing about St. Luke, among many things, is that he was a physician, a medical doctor… chosen by our Lord not because He was special in and of himself, but because God had set him aside to write the Gospel that bears his name and the Book of Acts that records the birth and early growth of the Christian Church. St. Luke was there to witness the Lord’s ministry, crucifixion, and resurrection. He traveled with St. Paul and saw with his own eyes the promise of Jesus. The harvest was plentiful… it is plentiful… Jesus sows the seeds and gives them growth… Jesus does it all, and yet He commends Luke to write for our benefit… not of the work that we must do to reap the harvest, but to labor together as ones redeemed by Christ in the vineyard together, to rejoice greatly that we have a place in the vineyard and yet there is still room! It started with 72, and the Christian church has been growing ever since. In fact, it’s never gotten smaller… for those departed saints who sleep the sleep of death rest secure as they await their raising, we who have been born are shepherded, cared for, and forgiven from womb to tomb, and yet there are many still to come for whom the Lord Jesus has died to save.
We pray for what the Lord promises… not results… not that we would even be ‘successful…’ Luke writes, “Pray for the Lord to send laborers,”… and so He does. Perhaps it’s you men who will preach and teach as pastors. Perhaps it’s you young ladies who will see to the mercy arm of the Lord’s church in diaconal ministry. We pray that the Lord will send laborers to provide us with the eternal Gifts of our Gracious God. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
Almighty God, You have commanded us to pray that You would send forth laborers into Your harvest. Of Your infinite mercy give us true ministers and teachers of Your Word who preach nothing contrary to Your Word. Grant that we, being warned, instructed, nurtured, comforted, and strengthened by Your Word, may do those things which are well pleasing to You and profitable for our salvation. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
-Rev. Adam DeGroot, pastor of Calvary Lutheran Church in Rio Rancho, NM.
Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.
In Embracing Your Lutheran Identity, Author Gene Edward Veith Jr. will guide readers through that heritage, starting with the Early Church and moving through the Reformation to Lutheranism today. Readers will learn about key people in the history of Lutheranism, from two teenagers who were the first martyrs of the Reformation, through the Saxon immigrants who left everything behind so they could practice Lutheranism freely, to the Lutherans who have stood strong for the faith in our own day.
