The Old Testament reading tells us, “Thus says the LORD: Rejoice with Jerusalem… In Jerusalem you shall find your comfort.” “The LORD’s strength shall be revealed to his people, but to his enemies, his wrath.” In the Gospel, disciples are sent out beyond Jerusalem, not to show their strength through wrath against enemies but through peacemaking with all. “Jesus appointed seventy-two others whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place.” “Into whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this household.’” If “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.’” “The seventy-two returned rejoicing.”
One aspect of Jesus’ strength is to mission disciples for a strong identity as peacemakers. Being strong peacemakers they show an independence, a freedom from agitation by disagreeable people. Jesus’ advice shares similarities to the ‘Let Them’ theory. It asserts if someone behaves in a way that you personally disapprove of, let them. We do not need to control other people. Doing so is exhausting and unproductive. We need to prioritize our selves and develop virtues such as self-mastery and tenacity to achieve our goals. The theory has similarities to Stoicism in that regard, which also extols self-mastery and tenacity. A critique of the ‘Let Them’ theory and of Stoicism is that their origins in ‘self-concern’ limit their ‘other-concern.’ This is apparent in Marcus Aurelius’ Stoicism in which ‘other-concern’ is limited to civic duty, in which virtues might be expressed out of loyalty for like-minded persons in the group or nation state with which one identifies. The limited ‘other concern,’ limited to a like-minded identity, and focused on limited virtues of self-mastery and tenacity, explains a current identity in the U.S. For example, Joe Rogan lets us know, “There’s only one way to get good at anything; you surround yourself with the bad m*f* who are doing exactly what you do and you force yourself to keep up and inspire each other.” Jordan Peterson believes, “You should be a monster. An absolute monster. And then you should learn how to control it.” Cameron Hanes asserts, “Being in Beast Mode is when it feels like you’re in a superhuman state of being, when in your mind you’re playing at a level above everybody else. Is this reality? Doesn’t matter. If you believe you are, you are. The mindset of a winner is unbeatable.” Navy SEAL Jocko Willink tells us, “I’m not a complete psychopath. Am I partially? Sure. I’ll accept that. But I’m not a complete psychopath.” “If you have to stand and fight, you train yourself so that you’re able to do it.” These Stoic guides are the heroes for young men who are lost and seeking an identity. Their limits as guides is readily apparent; limited to self, limited for tribe, limited in mission. The men who share Jesus’ strength and also share his missioning young men for a strong identity as peacemakers, deserve the same media attention. This includes the men who recently sailed the Freedom Flotilla carrying humanitarian aid to help relieve the genocide targeting Palestinians: Baptiste André, Omar Faiad, Marco van Rennes, Pascal Maurieras, Reva Seifert-Viard, Sergio Toribio, Suayb Ordu, Thiago Ávila, Yanis Mhamdi
“We must find new ways to speak for peace… If we do not act, we shall surely be dragged down the long, dark, and shameful corridors of time reserved for those who possess power without compassion, might without morality, and strength without sight.” (Martin Luther King Jr.)
Prayer: Beautiful Spirit, guide us in peacemaking as a strength.
Question: How do I mission youth, young men especially, for peacemaking?
July 06, 2025 Gospel Luke 10:1-20 Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time