Luke 10:2 with St. Bonaventure

“And he said to them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.’”

Jesus launches his disciples on a mission with an encouragement to pray that even more laborers be sent out to reap the harvest of souls. It is telling that the harvest begins with prayer, not work, because prayer is the foundation of the harvest. In commenting on this verse, St. Bonaventure highlights the need not just for laborers, but for good ones. He says, “Those who practice what they preach are laborers and are to be rewarded by the Lord.” Hypocrites are not eligible. To be the true laborers for which Jesus urges us to pray, we must be sincere. Our conduct must reflect the principles that we proclaim.

Bonaventure presses the point, and reports on the state of things among the workers: “few are industrious laborers, but many are malicious.” Even more, “many are slothful.” We should never discount the danger of laziness and selfish intent invading our spiritual life and ministry efforts. Rather, we must be on guard against such temptations in order that we might be good, industrious laborers in the harvest. 

Bonaventure identifies the means of harvesting as “the sword of the divine word,” as if the proclamation of the gospel were a sickle by which grain could be cut down. He explains that a sword, “unless it is held in the hand, does not strike fear in the adversary.” We must be ready for spiritual combat. He aligns this idea with Nehemiah’s contested rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem, where the Jewish workmen were under such threat that they had to work with one hand and hold a sword with the other. 

Despite all the warnings he offers, Bonaventure acknowledges that God does grant us laborers—saints, priests, sisters, evangelists, witnesses. So we pray. We pray for vocations to the priesthood and religious life. We pray for God to grant authentic witnesses to the gospel, industrious laborers in the harvest of souls who are truly devoted to him and who hold the sword of the Word at the ready.[1]

[1] Summary by Mark Giszczak with the use of Bonaventure, Commentary on the Gospel of Luke: Chapters 9–16, trans. and ed. Robert J. Karris, Works of St. Bonaventure, vol. VIII, Part II (Saint Bonaventure, NY: Franciscan Institute, 2003), 927–928.