Lectionary 667 (St.Luke) and 474.

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Scripture: Lectionary 661. St. Luke, Oct. 18^th: II Timothy 4:9-17. Psalm 145:10-1.12-13.17-18. Luke 10:1-9:

Luke offers us two great works: his Gospel and then the Acts of the Apostles which is the story of the beginnings of the early church through the apostles. He almost writes one fourth of the New Testament through his cooperation with the Holys Spirit. His writings consist of 24 chapters in his Gospel and 28 chapters in the Acts of the Apostles. It is Saint Luke whom we honor in our liturgical celebration on this 18^th of October.

Compassion, joy, and peace are just a few of the themes we find in Luke. He is the most gifted writer among the four and is able to use his Greek language to imitate both the Septuagint translation of the Old Testament as we see in chapters one and two and then the most erudite sentence in the whole of the New Testament in Luke 1:1-4 where he tells us why he writes. We are assured that we are receiving the authentic news about Jesus and that we are being confirmed in our faith when we read this Gospel. Jesus is the compassionate Savior whom we see in the unique parables that Luke gives us, for example, the Good Samaritan and the Prodigal Son or Benevolent Father.

In our first reading from II Timothy we learn that Luke is with Paul. There is a possibility he accompanied Paul on the missionary journey mentioned in the “we” sections of the Acts of the Apostles. Luke thus is with the great apostle who preached to everyone. Luke as Evangelist and historian has a universalism that is similar to that of St. Paul.

Through Luke we have the longest Travel Narrative given in a Gospel (Luke 9:51-18:14 and perhaps to 19:27). This is the section where we have the most about discipleship in a Gospel. We easily see how Jesus is teaching his followers the conditions of discipleship and the cost of following him more closely.

Luke is guided by the Holy Spirit throughout his writings and it is he who tells us the most about how to pray often. It is he who is the portrait painter of Mary through his literary images and stories about her. He is the Evangelist upon whom the rosary is based having almost all of the mysteries including the luminous ones. Only Cana, the Assumption, and the Coronation are not reflected in Luke!

We may wish to take out time to discover a few of the above characteristics of Luke or frame them within his writings as Evangelist, theologian, historian, and artist. No matter where we read Luke we will have a sense of his joy and his outreach to all of us. Amen.

474.doc

Scripture: Lectionary 474:

Romans 5:12.15.17-19.20-21. Psalm 40:7-8.8-9.10.17. Luke 12:35-38:

Prudence tells us to follow good advice. Today we have Jesus helping us to do this when it comes to think about his coming at the end of time. We are not to predict this nor listen to anyone who tries to do this. We are neither to be afraid of that coming nor frantic about it. The passage we have from Luke is a positive one and gives us an approach to a balanced way of thinking about our final days or the final days of the end time.

Jesus words remind us of how the Israelites traveled unencumbered through the desert and were led by the luminous cloud at night. We are advised to travel lightly, live simply, and to have our lamps lit to arrive safely at the wedding feast continued in the home of the bridegroom. Jesus is using language in a direct way though he also has given us the parable of the wedding banquet and the ten virgins to help us understand what he means by telling us to be prepared, to stay awake, and to anticipate the bridegroom and the bride coming to their home.

In the Apocalypse we have an image that is similar to these words of Jesus. It too is very positive about how we are to pray and wait for the Lord: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any man hear my voice and open the door, I will sup with him, and he with me.” (Apoc. 3:20).

We prepare ourselves daily for the coming of the Lord now and in the future through our prayers and through the sacrament of the Eucharist. We listen attentively for the word of God and then receive the Lord in the sacrament of the Eucharist. These two ways of preparing for the Lord are filled with peace and joy. May we be attentive to our Lord as he reveals himself in word and sacrament. What a wonderful Lord he is to invite us to the banquet that he has prepared. He offers us himself as our daily bread. “Come, Lord Jesus! Come.” Maranatha. Amen.