Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Our Lord sends the disciples out two by two and says the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. What do think he means by saying the laborers are few? We all think he means there are few priests, but it cannot be, why? There were no priests at that time. He was speaking to people like you and me. That is why the evangelization went well; they knew that it was up to them, and they could not think it was the job of the priests.
Jesus Christ is talking about Christians. The workers are few. If you are baptized, you are called to be a worker. What does it mean to be a worker? Is it to be baptized, to go often to Mass, to pray a lot? No! The point of the gospel is to go out like lambs in the midst of wolves. To be a little lamb surrounded by wolves and this is why you are not a worker. The harvest is plentiful, and we need many lambs, many Christs. You are not and neither am I. We are not willing to give our life for the Lord.
What do lambs do when they are surrounded by wolves, should they turn themselves into wolves? They cannot do anything except let themselves be killed, so they can be other Christs. The mission of a Christian is very simple. You can see it if you have a crucifix in front of you. The mission of a Christian is to be a lamb among wolves, like Christ did. How often you been a wolf, how many times have you killed Christ? Today the lamb allows himself to be eaten by you in the Eucharist. He will become flesh for you, under the appearances of bread. He is the true lamb who has taken away the sins of the world.
To be a lamb is not to say many things, not to preach in the town squares, not to give testimony or to study theology. To be a lamb is to die, only to die, that’s it. The gospel doesn’t say to do this or do that. It says not to carry anything and when you enter the house say, “Peace to this house!” Let yourself be eaten. If they reject your greeting of peace, it will come back to you. Eat what they put before you, cure the sick. Then say, “The kingdom of God is at hand.” Christ didn’t not go out before he sent the disciples. The kingdom comes because a disciple has come to you. A disciple is Christ, and it is through a disciple that Christ comes to your house. Through a disciple the king has arrived. The king is Christ.
Where there is a Christian, there is Christ. Where there is a Christian, there is a lamb. The lamb is sent in the midst of wolves and Christ will be with the lamb; he will be with you. He is the one who will heal, he is the one who makes the kingdom present through the announcement that you make. Where there is the kingdom there is Christ. He loves, he doesn’t judge anyone, or think he is better than anyone, he doesn’t condemn anyone. He is not like Pilate. He is silent.
You and I defend ourselves all day long. You defend yourself in front of your wife, in front of your children, with your boss, with your co-workers, with everyone. To defend yourself means you don’t turn the other cheek. There are few workers, so the harvest is great. Often, there is not a single worker. Our Lord wants at least one person to give his life, not to do many things. If the Holy Spirit is in his heart he will die. His mission is to die. It is not to talk a lot; he is to be quiet, quiet! The little lamb is not noticed. People will not notice you. This is the mission of a Christian. He is not to be superman. Christ says he will be with you, and you don’t have to carry anything.
The door you need to enter is a narrow door! The word today gives you happiness. If you live this word, you will be full of joy. Going two by two makes it easy to defend your chastity, to be generous, to speak well of the others. This is true because you go with Jesus Christ. And it is also wonderful that you receive Jesus Christ so that he can be within you. He will go with us. He doesn’t say, “You go, and I will stay.” You will be given power to tread on serpents and scorpions. He gives you power over the enemy, which is the devil. Nothing will hurt you. Nothing because to be a Christian means that Christ is with you, because he never dies, he has eternal life; he has defeated death. He is immortal; nothing destroys him, not even the lies of the devil. He is happy even when he falls; he will get up again. Nothing will harm you because you are with the Risen Lord, never to die again. A Christian who has Christ is in heaven.
Don’t rejoice because the spirits are subject to you. It is ok when someone thanks you for the word you gave them. The gratitude that people show you can be one of the greatest joys of your life. They are thanking you, but it was Christ who saved them. Jesus says rejoice because your names are written in heaven. You are already catapulted to heaven because Christ is in heaven and therefore a Christian is already in heaven if he has Christ. Let the Holy Spirit begin to open up your mind to understand this. It is not something magical that by praying the rosary or making a novena your name can be written in heaven. It is written in heaven if you love. A Christian loves because he has Christ within and therefore, he has the kingdom of God. If you believe this your life already starts to be transformed.
It is wonderful because Christ needs us and counts on us. He needs you as you are and loves you that way. He calls you for a wonderful mission so that you can give your life, even if you are proud, lustful, angry and no one can tell you anything. At the hour of the test, maybe at the hour of our death, we will see who is a Christian and who is not. If you are surrounded by wolves, will you be a lamb or a wolf? I would like to die as a lamb and let myself be killed. To be a lamb is to turn the other cheek and to love the enemy. How does a Christian love the enemy? By letting himself be killed by him.