Feast of Saint Luke,
Evangelist
 |
| “St. Luke” by Frans Hals, 1625 |
Reading 1: 2 Timothy 4:10-17b
Beloved:
Demas, enamored of the
present world,
deserted me and went to
Thessalonica,
Crescens to Galatia, and
Titus to Dalmatia.
Luke is the only one with me.
Get Mark and bring him with
you,
for he is helpful to me in
the ministry.
I have sent Tychicus to Ephesus
When you come, bring the
cloak I left with Carpus in Troas ,
the papyrus rolls, and
especially the parchments.
Alexander the coppersmith did
me a great deal of harm;
the Lord will repay him
according to his deeds.
You too be on guard against
him,
for he has strongly resisted
our preaching.
At my first defense no one
appeared on my behalf,
but everyone deserted me.
May it not be held against
them!
But the Lord stood by me and
gave me strength,
so that through me the
proclamation might be completed
and all the Gentiles might
hear it.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on
2 Tm 4:10-17b
St. Paul, when this letter was
written, is on his second missionary journey. Just before his martyrdom,
he has run into significant opposition, and his companions, with the exception
of “Luke” (believed to be the Evangelist) have deserted him. The Lord, however,
through his divine assistance, has kept St. Paul’s mission alive and effective.
The Apostle mentions Demas. He was
one of Paul's companions and had traveled with him for some time. Demas could
not continue to endure Paul’s austere life-style and was afraid of the coming
persecution. Here Paul says Demas has deserted him (note: Luke was also
mentioned in the Apostle’s earlier travels in Colossians 4:14
and Philemon
24). Similarly others in his party also left on various
missions, leaving only St. Luke the Evangelist with him.
“St. Paul
CCC: 2 Tm 4 2015
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 145:10-11, 12-13, 17-18
R. (12) Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious
splendor of your Kingdom.
Let all your works give you
thanks, O LORD,
and your faithful bless you.
They speak of the glory of
your reign
and tell of your great works,
R. Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious
splendor of your Kingdom.
Making known to all your
power,
the glorious splendor of your
rule.
Your reign is a reign for all
ages,
your dominion for all
generations.
R. Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious
splendor of your Kingdom.
You, LORD, are just in all
your ways,
faithful in all your works
You, LORD, are near to all
who call upon you,
to all who call upon you in
truth.
R. Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious
splendor of your Kingdom.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on
Ps 145:10-11, 12-13, 17-18
Psalm 145 is a hymn of
praise. These strophes call on the faithful to give thanks to God for opening
the gates of his Heavenly Kingdom. The psalmist (David) rejoices in the image
of God’s Heavenly Kingdom, as its very existence announces God’s glory to the
world. They continue praising God for his justice, and his creating hand. God
in turn supports his faithful servants and blesses their efforts.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel: Luke 10:1-9
The Lord Jesus appointed
seventy-two disciples
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
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
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on
Lk 10:1-9
It is only in the Gospel of St.
Luke that we hear the story of Jesus sending the seventy (two). This event is
supported by other non-biblical writings (see Eusebius of Caesarea
(c. 265-c. 340) Church History, Book. 1). The instructions given to those
sent out are very similar to the instructions given to the Twelve, as was the
message they were sent to proclaim.
This selection emphasizes Jesus'
early struggle to accomplish what he came to do by himself. We sense the
humanness as he says: "The harvest is abundant but the laborers are
few." We also find this event and statement in St. Matthew’s Gospel where
instead of the 72 he names the 12 (Matthew 10:1-8). While in
St. Matthew’s story Jesus sends them first to the Hebrew people, St. Luke makes
no such distinction.
This effort by Jesus was modeled on
Moses’ leadership structure in which 70 elders were appointed (Numbers 11:24-25). It is
also possible that the reference number 70 relates to the number of nations
mentioned in Genesis 10. The disciples were sent two by two, a custom that
would be replicated later in the post-resurrection missionary activities of the
Church (see Acts
8:14; 15:39-40).
In another historical similarity,
the disciples were sent without possessions, presumably depending upon the
traditionally required hospitality for their support. Similar instructions were
given by the Prophet Elisha as he sent his servant in 2 Kings 4:29.
The Lord’s instructions concerning
this hospitality “…laborer deserves payment” is also quoted in St. Paul’s first
letter to Timothy (1
Timothy 5:18b) and has further support in 1 Corinthians 9:7, 14. Those who
labor on behalf of the Gospel and cannot take time to support themselves
deserve the support of the community. In a final twist, the Lord’s instruction
to “…eat what is set before you” sets aside Mosaic dietary laws (also 1 Corinthians 10:27 and Acts 10:25). It is a
clear indication that the scope of their mission is to call all peoples to the
Gospel.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reflection:
It
is interesting that when one searches for religious art depicting Saint Luke,
many of the great Renaissance Artists show him painting the Virgin Mary. Without doing any research into the reasons
for this, we must assume it is because of the first chapter of his Gospel,
wherein the evangelist relates the wonderful Canticle of Mary which, with
words, paints a picture of Our Lady’s heart and soul.
It
is certainly just and fitting that we should dedicate a feast to the author of the
Gospel of St. Luke and its companion, Acts of the Apostles. His efforts have provided us with not only
with a portrait of the life of Christ, but also of the message taken into the
world by the Apostles. The Acts of the Apostles essentially relates how the
Holy Spirit, our guide and Advocate, operated to make sure God’s message did
not die with His Only Begotten Son upon the cross.
We
reflect today upon the difficulty of doing what St. Luke did. In order for him to have created such an
inspired work, he must have spent hours in prayer, asking for the guidance that
was given to his hand as he penned the words we proclaim. His chronology of the Lord’s life must have
been taken from many sources, since he could not have been with the Magi or the
Shepherds at the Lord’s birth. Nor is it
likely he was staying with Elizabeth when her cousin, St. Mary, came to stay
with her while she herself was carrying the unborn St. John the Baptist.
The
pieces we get from Sacred Scripture today are not just a story related, but a
set of examples left for us. It was
intended to provide both an example and encouragement, telling us that the
mission of Christ was not completed, even with the Apostle’s great works of
evangelization. We too are called to
take that message, learned from the Gospels, into the world.
Today,
as we face the growing challenge of Secular Humanism fueled by the ongoing war
for the hearts and minds of God’s people by the powerful and greedy, our voices
are needed. We must become like the seventy
(two), sent by the Lord into the world to provide a message of hope. The secular message is so compelling. It is like a large rock rolling
downhill. No effort is required. It will just roll, propelled by gravity,
until it hits the bottom. We are called
to place our hands on the boulder and try to stop it. We must stop it, because whether they know it
or not, those who compose that boulder will find the bottom to be the pit of
despair.
Today,
the Church calls to its people in a New Evangelization. We are called to seek the lost and reach out
to the fallen, as Luke reminds us that the Lord did. Can we not be energized on this day, as we
memorialize one of the Gospel authors, asking for his prayers on our behalf?
Pax
In
other Years: Wednesday
of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time
[1]
The picture is “St. Luke” by Frans Hals, 1625
[3]
The readings are taken from the New American Bible with the exception of the
Psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for
English in Liturgy (ICEL). This re-publication is not authorized by USCCB and
is for private use only.
[4]
Letters of St. Paul , The Navarre Bible, Four Courts Press,
2003 pp. 606
No comments:
Post a Comment