The following homily was shared at our Sunday Evening Eucharist service 7/6/25.

Gospel Reading:

At that time the Lord appointed seventy-two others
whom he sent 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.
Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals;
and greet no one along the way.
Into whatever house you enter, first say,
'Peace to this household.'
If a peaceful person lives there,
your peace will rest on him;
but if not, it will return to you.
Stay in the same house and eat and drink what is offered to you,
for the laborer deserves his payment.
Do not move about from one house to another.
Whatever town you enter and they welcome you,
eat what is set before you,
cure the sick in it and say to them,
'The kingdom of God is at hand for you.'
Whatever town you enter and they do not receive you,
go out into the streets and say,
'The dust of your town that clings to our feet,
even that we shake off against you.'
Yet know this: the kingdom of God is at hand.
I tell you,
it will be more tolerable for Sodom on that day than for that town."

The seventy-two returned rejoicing, and said,
"Lord, even the demons are subject to us because of your name."
Jesus said, "I have observed Satan fall like lightning from the sky.
Behold, I have given you the power to 'tread upon serpents' and scorpions
and upon the full force of the enemy and nothing will harm you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you,
but rejoice because your names are written in heaven." (Luke 10:1-12, 17-20)

During my time off last week, I took the opportunity to go to Bentonville for some mountain biking. I expected it to be a couple of days of sweaty fun, but what I didn’t expect was I would be leaving there with sorrow in my heart. Bentonville was the place that I grew up, but in the last 9 years since I left, the town has changed a lot. Newer and taller buildings have been built. People live at a much faster pace than they used to. Spiritually it has changed a lot too. Options for church mostly boil down to evangelical mega churches or liberal leaning traditional Protestant churches.

Even though my intent on being there wasn’t missionary work, Jesus’ description of being lambs among wolves is a bit how I felt at that time. During my time in lectio while I was there, I was convicted of Jesus telling me not to be ashamed of Him and his words. In Bentonville, I found it hard to be confident as a Christian because the chance of rejection seemed higher. What I realized was that I had become comfortable doing ministry in Ruston, where being a Christian (or at least identifying as one) is almost the norm.

The fear of rejection is normal, but Jesus actually told his followers to expect it. However, Jesus knew that the Father would take care of them. When He sent out the seventy-two, he told them to take no money, no bag, and no sandals. This would only be possible if Jesus trusted that there would be people that would accept His followers and take care of them.

Jesus has put us here at Louisiana Tech to spread the Gospel here. While we should expect rejection, we should also trust that there will be people who will accept the Gospel and there will be those who will support us along the way. Let us not be ashamed of Jesus, but trust in His love and power. Let us not fret about all of the rejection we will face, but rejoice when the lost sheep is found and turns to Jesus.

Trusting God in the Face of Rejection: Austin Shanley

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