October 18 2019 - St. Luke - Gathered in to be sent out

St. Luke’s Gospel was written between 70 and 85 A.D.  Tradition holds Luke to be a native of Antioch, where Ignatius, our Patron, was Bishop. 

Luke was not one of the twelve apostles or one of Jesus’ disciples; for Luke was a Gentile convert.  So, he is probably the only non-Jewish writer of the entire Bible. 

Of all the passages from his Gospel, the Church has chosen for his feast the passage of the sending of the 72 disciples. 72 is a symbolic number for the Gentiles throughout the Bible, and so this passage, must have been quite dear to Luke, himself a Gentile who had been converted to Christ. He himself was a portion of that harvest gathered in by the disciples of the Lord Jesus, as are all of us—chosen to go into the world to bear fruit that will last. 

We have been gathered in, in order, to be sent out, to “make known the glorious splendor of God’s kingdom” as we recited in the Psalm today.

St. Luke made known the kingdom through his writing, his painstaking investigation into the events of Jesus’ life, and in his willingness to embrace suffering for the sake of the kingdom. Luke accompanied Paul on his third missionary journey, remaining at Paul’s side during his imprisonment and at trial before Caesar in Rome. It was in Rome that Luke wrote his Gospel and the book of acts. After the death of Paul, Luke spread the Gospel in Italy, Dalmatia, Gaul, Macedonia, and Egypt. And in March of 84 AD, he died a martyr’s death, some legends say, crucified to an olive tree.

We have been gathered in, in order to be sent out, to announce the kingdom of God is at hand to the nations. There is a likely a person whom we will encounter today—we may not even know them yet—a person to whom we are called by God to witness to the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ. We pray for that person now, that we may minister to them courageously.

 May St. Luke assist us in our mission as disciples of Jesus, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That all Christians may be faithful to their vocation to spread the Gospel in word and deed.

That on this feast of St. Luke, patron of medical doctors, all doctors may have a reverence for life, and for the conversion of all who do not believe.

For Pope Francis’ prayer intention for the month of October, “that the breath of the Holy Spirit may engender a new missionary ‘spring’ in the Church.

For all the sick and suffering, and for all those in hospitals, nursing homes, and hospice care, for all those who will die today, for their consolation and that of their families.

For the repose of the souls of our beloved dead, for all of the poor souls in purgatory, for the deceased members of our family, friends, and parish, for the deceased clergy and religious of our diocese, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom.

God of mercy, hear our prayers, ease the sufferings and comfort the weakness of your servants, and bring us to eternal life, through Christ our Lord.