Send Me

“There are not enough of you to carry out this task; it is dangerous, and you’ll have no tools or means to complete it on your own. What is the task? You are to go into a nearby town, and once there, you are to Heal the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ For each house you come to, before you cross the threshold, you are to say, ‘Peace be to this house!’”

What is this peace the disciples are to speak?

We often associate the word peace with the absence of conflict and war or in terms of getting some “peace and quiet.” However, in Judaism, peace is much more.

“In the Bible, the word shalom [peace] is most commonly used to refer to a state of affairs; one of well-being, tranquility, prosperity, and security, circumstances unblemished by any sort of defect. Shalom is a blessing, a manifestation of divine grace.” (My Jewish Learning, Source) Peace/Shalom is the making real God’s divine grace/favor, a grace that restores to fullness—without defect or blemish—the relationship between the Creator and His created. 

How does such a definition of God’s peace enhance our understanding of what Jesus asked the seventy-two to do?

Consider the Song of Zechariah (Luke 1:67-69). Zechariah praises God for the gift of his son, who he names John. Within the song, he also declares the sacred calling that God has bestowed upon John.

“And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;
    for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,

to give knowledge of salvation to his people
    in the forgiveness of their sins,

because of the tender mercy of our God,
    whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high

to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
    to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

You, John, shall make known our salvation, the removal of defects and blemishes that mar our relationship with God. You shall guide our feet; you shall point the way to God’s grace made real.

When Jesus sent out the seventy-two, John had already been killed (cf Luke 9:7). However, there is still work to be done, and the workers are few. Therefore, by sending the seventy-two and telling them to proclaim, “Peace be to this house!”, Jesus is asking them to continue this work of making known the forgiveness of sins by pointing the way to God’s grace made real, God’s grace made manifest in Jesus, His One and Only Son.

Throughout the Season of Advent, we hear of Jesus' Second Coming— “There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.” (Luke 21:25-26) However, note the future tense of these words. These things will take place but have not yet come to completion. So, as in the time of Jesus, the workers are few, but there is still much work to be done.

The Lord spoke to the Prophet Isaiah and said, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” (Isaiah 6:8) Those words echo across the centuries to us today. We can ignore them and go about our daily lives, or we can say with Isaiah, “Here I am! Send me.” Here I am, Lord! I want to be one of Your workers. Send me to speak peace to my family and to my friends. Send me to make known the forgiveness of sins. Send me to make Jesus real in the world.

I am created to do something or to be something

for which no one else is created;

I have a place in God’s counsels, in God’s world,

which no one else has;

whether I be rich or poor, despised or esteemed by man,

God knows me and calls me by my name.

God has created me to do Him some definite service;

He has committed some work to me

which He has not committed to another.

— St. John Henry Newman

The Rev. Dr. John Toles, Rector, St. Matthews Episcopal Church, Enid, OK