Sending of the Seventy-two (Luke 10:1-7)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
“He said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore, ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest.”
Tradition tells us that among the 72 disciples that gathered around Jesus and the apostles, and who were sent out to prepare communities for the preaching of Jesus, was the apostle of Cyprus, St. Barnabas. St. Barnabas was a Cypriot born of Jewish parents. The early Church had great confidence in Barnabas calling him the ‘son of encouragement’ because he was so helpful and kind. It was St. Barnabas who took the risk of going to find Saul of Tarsus and bringing him to Antioch to help build up the church there. It was this same Saul who became Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles. St. Barnabas accompanied Paul here to Cyprus, and it was here that Barnabas stayed and proclaimed the Gospel and laid the foundations of the Christian community here. Ultimately, he gave testimony to his faith in Jesus Christ by being crowned with martyrdom on this beautiful island.
The Holy Spirit continues to send out labourers into the harvest, but the word of Christ are still true today: ‘the labourers are few” because “the missionary endeavor requires patience.” (CCC 854). The words of Jesus Christ echo in our day: “the labourers are few” precisely because so few of us have acquired the virtue of patience. Our fallen nature likes easy solutions, quick fixes, and we all hope to avoid hard work. Certainly, there is no shortage of people who work, but we are short of people who will undertake the most difficult work, the preaching and teaching of the Gospel. The transmission of the faith, the building of the Church, and the proclamation of the Gospel are not easy tasks because there will be many moments of defeat and set back. (CCC 854)
Each of us must beg the Holy Spirit for the gift and the virtue of patience. Patience will stop us from throwing up our hands and quitting when things don’t go well. Let us place ourselves and our community in the hands of the Holy Spirit and ask for the virtue of patience so we can be counted as real labourers in the Lord’s work.
† Selim Sfeir
Maronite Archbishop of Cyprus