Daily Gospel

Jesus appointed seventy-two other discipleswhom he sent ahead of him in pairsto 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 harvestto 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.”

As Jesus and his disciples were proceedingon their journey, someone said to him,"I will follow you wherever you go."Jesus answered him,"Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests,but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head."And to another he said, "Follow me."But he replied, "Lord, let me go first and bury my father."But he answered him, "Let the dead bury their dead.But you, go and proclaim the Kingdom of God."And another said, "I will follow you, Lord,but first let me say farewell to my family at home."Jesus answered him, "No one who sets a hand to the plowand looks to what was left behind is fit for the Kingdom of God."

Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him,"Here is a true child of Israel.There is no duplicity in him."Nathanael said to him, "How do you know me?"Jesus answered and said to him,"Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree."Nathanael answered him,"Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel."Jesus answered and said to him,"Do you believebecause I told you that I saw you under the fig tree?You will see greater things than this."And he said to him, "Amen, amen, I say to you,you will see heaven openedand the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man."

An argument arose among the disciplesabout which of them was the greatest. Jesus realized the intention of their hearts and took a childand placed it by his side and said to them,"Whoever receives this child in my name receives me,and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.For the one who is least among all of youis the one who is the greatest."Then John said in reply, "Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name and we tried to prevent himbecause he does not follow in our company."Jesus said to him, "Do not prevent him, for whoever is not against you is for you."

Jesus said to the chief priests and elders of the people:"What is your opinion?A man had two sons.He came to the first and said,'Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.'He said in reply, 'I will not,'but afterwards changed his mind and went.The man came to the other son and gave the same order.He said in reply, 'Yes, sir, 'but did not go.Which of the two did his father's will?"They answered, "The first."Jesus said to them, "Amen, I say to you,tax collectors and prostitutesare entering the kingdom of God before you.When John came to you in the way of righteousness,you did not believe him;but tax collectors and prostitutes did.Yet even when you saw that,you did not later change your minds and believe him."

While they were all amazed at his every deed,Jesus said to his disciples,“Pay attention to what I am telling you.The Son of Man is to be handed over to men.” But they did not understand this saying;its meaning was hidden from themso that they should not understand it,and they were afraid to ask him about this saying.

Once when Jesus was praying in solitude,and the disciples were with him,he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?”They said in reply, “John the Baptist; others, Elijah;still others, ‘One of the ancient prophets has arisen.’”Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”Peter said in reply, “The Christ of God.”He rebuked them and directed them not to tell this to anyone.He said, “The Son of Man must suffer greatlyand be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,and be killed and on the third day be raised.”

Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was happening,and he was greatly perplexed because some were saying,“John has been raised from the dead”;others were saying, “Elijah has appeared”;still others, “One of the ancient prophets has arisen.”But Herod said, “John I beheaded.Who then is this about whom I hear such things?”And he kept trying to see him.

Jesus summoned the Twelve and gave them power and authorityover all demons and to cure diseases,and he sent them to proclaim the Kingdom of Godand to heal the sick.He said to them, "Take nothing for the journey,neither walking stick, nor sack, nor food, nor money,and let no one take a second tunic.Whatever house you enter, stay there and leave from there.And as for those who do not welcome you,when you leave that town,shake the dust from your feet in testimony against them."Then they set out and went from village to villageproclaiming the Good News and curing diseases everywhere.

The mother of Jesus and his brothers came to himbut were unable to join him because of the crowd.He was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outsideand they wish to see you.”He said to them in reply, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it.”