Daily Word: Luke 10:1-12 – Sent Like Lambs Among Wolves | Thursday, Oct 1 (St. Thérèse)

Luke 10:1-12 (Memorial of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus – Year A)

“The Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit. He said to them, ‘The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest. Go on your way; behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves.’” (Luke 10:1-3)

Jesus is on the road to Jerusalem. He has set His face toward the Cross, and there is no turning back. But before He arrives, He sends. He does not go alone into the towns and villages. He prepares the way. He sends seventy-two others.

This is not the sending of the Twelve. That came earlier (Luke 9:1-6). This is a second sending, a wider sending, a mission that anticipates the universal mission of the Church. And the details of this sending reveal the very heart of the Gospel.

The Seventy-Two and the Face of Christ: Hebdomēkonta Dyo and Prosōpon (v. 1)

Luke tells us Jesus appointed hebdomekonta dyo — seventy-two others.

The number matters. In Genesis 10, the table of nations lists seventy-two nations. The rabbinic tradition held that there were seventy-two languages of the world. The seventy-two are a figure of the nations — a sign that the Gospel is not for Israel alone, but for all peoples. The mission of the seventy-two is the first faint outline of the missionary mandate: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19).

And Luke says Jesus sent them ana dyo — two by two. Not alone. Not isolated. In pairs. The mission is communal. Two witnesses establish a matter (Deuteronomy 19:15). Two companions strengthen each other (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12). Two brothers bear the message together, so that neither pride nor despair can destroy them alone.

But the most striking phrase in the verse is this: “to every town and place he intended to visit.”

The Greek text says pro prosōpon autou — literally, “before his face.” They do not go to a place; they go before His face. They are forerunners. They prepare the ground for the Lord's own arrival. Their mission is not to replace Him; it is to announce Him. They are advance messengers of a coming King.

The Harvest and the Prayer: Ekballō and Ergatēs (v. 2)

Jesus says: “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few.”

The Greek word for “harvest” is therismos — the crop, the reaping, the time of gathering. The Greek word for “laborers” is ergatai — workers, those who toil. The image is urgent. The field is ripe. The grain will rot if it is not gathered. But there are not enough hands.

Then Jesus gives the command: “So ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.”

The Greek verb for “send out” is ekballō — to cast out, to drive out, to thrust forth. It is the same verb used for casting out demons (Luke 9:49). It is not a gentle word. It is a forceful, urgent, almost violent word. The prayer for laborers is not a polite request; it is a cry of desperation. The harvest is perishing, and we beg the Lord to thrust workers into the field.

This is a startling truth. Before the mission begins, prayer must begin. We do not go first; we ask first. We do not act; we plead. We do not run to the field; we run to the Lord of the field. The missionary is born in intercession.

Lambs Among Wolves: Arnas and Lykous (v. 3)

Then Jesus says: “Go on your way; behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves.”

The Greek word for “lambs” is arnas — little lambs, newborn lambs, the most defenseless of animals. The Greek word for “wolves” is lykous — predators, devourers, hunters of the flock.

This is not a strategic plan. It is a death sentence — from the world's point of view. No general sends lambs into wolves. No commander arms his troops with defenselessness. And yet Jesus does exactly that. He does not say: “Be wise as serpents and innocent as doves” (that comes in Matthew 10:16). He says: Be lambs.

Why? Because the Kingdom advances not by force but by weakness. Not by dominance but by sacrifice. The wolf attacks; the lamb lays down its life — and in that laying down, the wolf is overcome. Christ Himself is the Lamb who was slain (Revelation 5:6), and by His wounds we are healed. The missionary is a little Christ — a lamb sent into the world of wolves, not to fight them, but to redeem them.

The Poverty of the Messenger: Ballantion and Pēra (v. 4)

Jesus commands: “Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals; and greet no one along the way.”

The Greek word for “money bag” is ballantion — a purse, a coin pouch. The Greek word for “sack” is pēra — a traveler's bag, a beggar's pack. The Greek word for “sandals” is hypodēmata — footwear, the protection for the feet.

These are not random prohibitions. Each one represents a human security. Money buys food. A bag carries provisions. Sandals protect against stones. Jesus strips them all away. He sends them empty-handed. Why? Because the message is the treasure, and the messenger must not distract from it. Because the laborer's wage is not in his purse; it is in the Providence of God (v. 7).

The command “greet no one along the way” is equally striking. The Greek verb is aspasasthe — to greet, to embrace, to welcome. In the ancient East, greetings were lengthy. One did not simply nod and move on. To greet someone was to enter into a social ritual that could last for minutes or hours. Jesus says: do not stop for that. The Kingdom is urgent. The harvest is now. Do not let the conventions of the world delay the mission of God.

The Peace and the Kingdom: Eirēnē and Ēngiken (v. 5-9)

When they enter a house, they are to say: “Peace to this house.”

The Greek word is eirēnē — the Greek translation of the Hebrew shalom. It is not merely the absence of conflict. It is wholeness, fullness, blessing, the presence of God. To speak peace is to speak God into the house. It is a sacramental act.

Then they are to heal the sick and announce: “The Kingdom of God is at hand.”

The Greek verb is ēngiken — it has drawn near, it has come, it is here. It is the perfect tense. The Kingdom is not a future hope; it is a present reality that has entered history in the person of Jesus. The mission of the seventy-two is to announce that the Kingdom has arrived — and to show it by healing the sick and casting out demons.

And if the town rejects the message, they are to shake the dust from their feet. The Greek word for “dust” is koniortos — the fine dust, the powder of the road. The Greek verb is apotinassō — to shake off, to brush away. It is a gesture of witness (martyrion, v. 5) — a testimony that the Kingdom came and was refused.

The missionary does not carry resentment. He does not carry bitterness. He carries peace into the house; if it is refused, he carries the peace back with him. He shakes off the dust and keeps walking. The message is not his; it is Christ's. And he is not the judge; he is only the messenger.

Saint Thérèse of Lisieux: The Lamb Who Never Left the Fold

Today the Church honors Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face (1873–1897), the Little Flower of Lisieux, Doctor of the Church, and co-patroness of the missions — along with Saint Francis Xavier.

And here is the paradox. She never went on a mission. She entered the Carmelite monastery of Lisieux at the age of fifteen and never left it. She spent nine years in the cloister, dying of tuberculosis at the age of twenty-four. She did not travel. She did not preach. She did not build hospitals or baptize converts. She lived a hidden, obscure, ordinary life.

And yet the Church declared her the patroness of missionaries.

Why? Because Thérèse understood the secret of Luke 10.

• She was sent before the face of Christ. She did not go to distant lands, but she offered her life for the missionaries who did. She prayed, she fasted, she wrote letters, she sacrificed. She was the hidden laborer who prepared the way for others to bring in the harvest.

• She carried no money bag, no sack, no sandals. She possessed nothing. She owned no property, no wealth, no status. She stripped herself of every earthly security and entrusted herself entirely to God.

• She was a lamb among wolves. She suffered from scrupulosity as a child, from the loss of her mother, from a severe psychological crisis at Christmas. Her father suffered mental illness. She died slowly and painfully. She was not spared the wolves — but she was not consumed by them.

• She knew the peace of the Kingdom. She wrote: “My God, I love You. I want to love You with a love so great that it would be like a martyrdom.” And she wrote: “In the heart of the Church, my Mother, I will be love.” She did not preach; she became the message.

• She healed the sick. Not physically, but spiritually. From her deathbed, she wrote: “I will spend my heaven doing good on earth.” And she has. Thousands of conversions, vocations, and healings have been attributed to her intercession. She is the most popular saint of the modern era.

Her famous doctrine is the Little Way. She wrote: “I want to seek a way to go to heaven by a little way, very short, a little way that is quite new.” The Little Way is the way of spiritual childhood — to trust God as a little child trusts a father, to do small things with great love, to accept weakness and littleness rather than pursuing heroic achievements. She said: “What matters in life is not great deeds, but great love.”

The Connection: The Mission Is Not Always Distant

The seventy-two were sent to towns and villages. Thérèse was sent to a cloister. And yet the Church says she was a missionary — one of the greatest.

This is the Gospel of Luke 10 read through the Little Way. The mission is not measured by miles traveled but by love given. The harvest is not brought in only by those who preach in public, but by those who pray in secret. The Kingdom is not extended only by those who teach, but by those who suffer in silence and offer it all.

Saint Thérèse is the proof that the missionary spirit is not a matter of geography but of the heart. You do not need to cross the ocean to bring souls to Christ. You need to cross yourself — to leave your ego behind, to take up your cross daily, to trust the Lord of the harvest, and to be a lamb among wolves in your own home, your own parish, your own office.

Her last words, as she looked at the crucifix, were: “Oh! I love Him! My God, I love You!”

She did not have to say anything else. She had given everything.

What This Means for Your Thursday

Today, the Gospel sends you.

• Are you praying for laborers? Before you ask “What can I do?” ask “Whom can I pray for?” The Kingdom is not advanced by our efforts alone; it is advanced by the Lord of the harvest thrusting workers into the field. Pray — and then offer yourself.

• Are you carrying too much? What are you taking on the journey that you should leave behind? Money? Prestige? A plan? A grudge? A fear? The messenger of the Kingdom travels light.

• Are you a lamb or a wolf? Do you impose yourself on others, or do you serve them? Do you dominate, or do you sacrifice? The Kingdom advances through weakness, not dominance.

• Do you have a Little Way? Saint Thérèse teaches us that holiness is not reserved for the great. It is available to every soul who does small things with great love. You do not have to leave your house to be a missionary. You have only to leave your selfishness.

A Short Prayer

Lord Jesus, You sent the seventy-two before Your face, with nothing but Your peace. Send me too. Strip from me every security that distracts me from the Gospel. Make me a lamb among wolves — not to be devoured, but to bring healing to the wounded. Teach me to carry nothing but Your word, and to trust the Providence of the Father for everything else.

Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, Little Flower, patroness of the missions, who never left her cloister yet reached the ends of the earth — teach me your Little Way. Teach me to do small things with great love. Teach me to trust like a child and to offer like a victim. Teach me that the Kingdom is not far away, but in the heart.

I will spend my heaven doing good on earth. Let me spend my life doing good here and now. And when my last hour comes, let my last words be yours: “Oh, I love Him! My God, I love You!” Amen.

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