October 18, 2017

Luke

October 18, 2017:  St. Luke, Evangelist

See about a dozen connections with today?
Legend below

Listen

For Psalm 145
Pope Francis
General audience:  Death is a reality our world often sets aside leaves us unprepared for.  In the mystery of death is a grace and light for everyone.  Past civilizations faced death with courage; older generations taught the younger to see it as a door and a call to live for something greater than themselves.  Jesus shows us that it's natural to mourn the loss of a loved one; at the death of Lazarus he wept, prayed to the Father, and called Lazarus from the tomb.  Our hope is that Jesus came to heal us and save us from death.  “I am the resurrection and the life.”  If we believe in him, even if we die, we'll live.  In the face of our sorrow and fear, he invites us to faith in him.  When we mourn, we know Christ remains close.  Death lays bare our lives, forcing us to acknowledge the vanity of our actions born from pride, anger, and hatred and highlighting how the good things we've sown have germinated.  When we face death with living faith, Jesus will take us by the hand and say, “Arise,” and hope will become reality.  More
To Religions for Peace:  Religions can't be neutral or ‎ambiguous about peacemaking.  Peace is both God's gift and a human achievement.  All believers are called to implore and pray for it.  Peacemaking and pursuing ‎justice go together,‎ and all people of good will are summoned to work for peace with heart, mind, and ‎hands.  Violence in the name of religion gravely offends God, ‎who is peace and the source of peace, and has left in ‎us a reflection of his wisdom, power ,‎and beauty.  Religions are ‎bound to promote peace ‎through justice, fraternity, ‎disarmament, and care for creation.‎  There's a need for cooperative effort in promoting an ‎integral ecology.  Religions can further a moral ‎covenant ‎to promote respect for human dignity and care for ‎creation.
Read

  • 2 Tm 4:10-17b Demas, Crescens, and Titus deserted me; only Luke is with me.  At my first defense no one appeared on my behalf; 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.
  • Ps 145:10-13, 17-18  "Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of your Kingdom."  You are just, holy, and near, and your Kingdom endures.
  • Lk 10:1-9  Jesus appointed and sent 72 disciples:  "The harvest is abundant but laborers few; ask the harvest master to send laborers.  Go; I send you like lambs among wolves.  Carry no money bag, sack, or sandals.  Cure the sick; say, 'The Kingdom of God is at hand for you.'"
Reflect
  • Creighton:  Paul doesn’t seem pleased with how his friends supported him in his need.  He feels deserted but realizes that God with him is enough.  He asks that his colleagues’ abandonment of him not be held against them.  When our friends, colleagues, and family seem to abandon us, we can overlook the strength of God's support, or expect God will just give us what we want, instead of the understanding we need of how the experience can bring us closer to God.  Paul’s forgiveness of those who deserted him is a great example for us, hard as it is to imitate.
St. Luke
“Let all your works give you thanks...” encourages us to find God in all things.  All things give the Lord thanks by just being.  Faithful ones bless God not only by being but also by discovering and fulfilling their purpose, acting “in God’s eye what in God’s eye he is—Christ” (Hopkins, As kingfishers catch fire), living as God calls them, acting as Christ in the “ten thousand places” where he lives, striving to “justice” (ibid.).
Jesus sends the disciples out to prepare the way for the Lord who is to come.  It took, and takes, faith to make a journey with no money bag, sack, or sandals,” relying on grace alone.  May we forgive those who abandon us, live as God calls me to, and have the faith to journey in simplicity with Christ. 
  • Passionist:  In Luke, all barriers are broken down:  Jesus is for saint and sinner, Jew and Gentile; Lk is written for everyone:  Samaritan, poor, women, outcasts....  God’s love is for everyone.  In today’s gospel, Jesus sends the seventy-two out in pairs, traveling light, to listen, notice, and bring peace.  Jesus sends each of us out, equipped and accompanied, to be his voice and face and build the kingdom, each with a role, though we can overthink our mission or cling to overreaching ideals.  How has God called you?  With whom?  Where?  What do you need to ‘shake off’ to respond?  Are you a peacemaker?
  • DailyScripture.net:  "God's kingdom has come near":  Jesus frequently used the image of a harvest, fruit of much labor and growth, to convey the coming of God's reign.  May we hear, accept, live, and share God's word.  Isaiah foretold a time when wolves and lambs will dwell in peace, Christ's second coming when the reign of God is fully established, but till then, we must expect opposition and persecution.  As Jesus laid down his life for us, we must be willing to offer our lives.
Seventy was a significant number:  number of elders Moses chose, Sanhedrin members, nations (so they thought)....  Jesus commissioned the seventy to speak in his name and act with his power, instructing them to serve without guile and with charity, peace, and simplicity, proclaiming God's kingdom, not diverted by other matters.  To focus on the task, they must only take essentials and leave the rest behind. They must give freely, not expecting payment. Poverty of spirit makes room for God’s provision; the Lord wants us to be dependent on him and to work in and through us....
  • Universalis:  Luke, Evangelist, Greek doctor who converted to Christianity, companion of Paul who wrote Lk in accordance with Paul’s teaching and Acts to narrate early Church history.  He explained Jewish customs and Hebrew words to Gentile readers.

  • Universalis:  Luke, Evangelist, Greek doctor who converted to Christianity, companion of Paul who wrote Lk in accordance with Paul’s teaching and Acts to narrate early Church history.  He explained Jewish customs and Hebrew words to Gentile readers.
Dress legend
  • 'Penny' button:  Alexander the coppersmith (1st reading; pennies are 2.5% copper); "carry no money bag" (gospel)
  • 'Crown' tie bar:  "Your friends make known your Kingdom's splendor" (psalm); "God's Kingdom is at hand for you" (gospel)
  • 'Phone' tie bar:  "The Lord is near to all who 'call' on him" (psalm)
  • 'Fruits' tie:  “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few" (gospel)
  • 'Lamb' tie bar:  "I'm sending you like lambs among wolves" (gospel)
  • 'Peace sign' tie bar:  Say, "Peace to this household" (gospel)
  • 'Silverware' tie bar:  "Eat and drink what's offered to you" (gospel)
  • Red shirt:  Liturgical color for St. Luke feast
  • Sandals (not shown):  Don't carry sandals (gospel)
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)