Peace to this house

Today’s gospel from Luke 10:1-12 reminds me of my first parish appointment in Fiji in 1977. I was appointed to the parish of Ba. While my parish priest worked in the town, I was assigned to serve the village communities scattered throughout this large province. One of the villages was Navala. I went there every fourth Sunday of the month. Because of the distance and the terrain – the village was located up in the hills – and because it was the largest Catholic community in the parish, I would spend at least two or three days there. (Just about the whole of the village of 600 people in those days were Catholic.) There was no church in the village at that time. There was, however, a Catholic school. The walls of three classrooms could be folded back to make a space big enough to form a church. As I read today' gospel account of how Jesus sent out 72 disciples ahead of him to preach about the Reign of God, there are pieces of advice that would have served me well and others not so well whenever I went to Navala. First of all, Jesus told his disciples not to take purse or haversack or sandals. I had a four-wheel drive. It was the only way to get there since the road had only recently reached the village. Secondly, Jesus told his disciples not to salute anyone along the way to wherever they were going. That wouldn’t have been good advice in Fiji. People were usually excited to see me. After all, I normally only got there once a month and the people looked forward to the monthly eucharist. I naturally acknowledge their words of welcome. When, however, I got to the village, I did what Jesus’ advised. I always went to the same house, that of the 'tui rara' (the gatekeeper). His house was located at the top end of the village directly facing the gate into the church compound. I always stayed in his house, shared the food prepared by his family, and found rest each day. While my presence may have been a source of blessing for him and his family, they always made me feel at home and aware that the Reign of God can be so very close when you are among friends and people who care for you.