Thánh Luca là ai? Chúng ta chỉ biết qua là ông đã sinh ra ờ thành phố Antioch và làm nghề thầy thuốc. Ông đã theo Thánh Phaolô như là người môn đệ trung thành của thánh Phaolô.. Qua các bài đọc trong sách Tông đồ công vụ, chúng ta có thể đoán được là Thánh Luca là người đồng hành rất thân thiết với Thánh Phaolô trên đường rao giảng tin mừng cho dân ngoại, và đặc biệt nhất là trong những giai đoạn gần cuối cuộc đời của Thánh Phaolô. Mặc dù có nhiều người bỏ rơi Thánh Phaolô trong những năm qua tù đày ở Rome, nhưng Thánh Luca đã luôn trung thành và ở gần với Thánh Phaolô cho đến khi thánh Phaolô được tử vì đạo.
Thánh Luca đã viết cả hai cuốn sách đó là sách Tin Mừng Thánh Luca và cuốn Tông Đồ Công Vụ. Trong số những thứ khác, tác phẩm của ông đã thể hiện tình thương yêu sâu sắc mà Chúa Giêsu đã dành cho người đau bệnh, những người nghèo khổ, những người phụ nữ bị bỏ rơi và những người sống bên lề của xã hội. Tin Mừng của Thánh Luca đã mang lại cho những người này có tiếng nói. Thánh Luca cho chúng ta thấy được sự chăm sóc dịu dàng của Chúa Giêsu đối với những người có yếu thế, nghèo hèn, đau khổ và Thánh Luca còn nhấn mạnh cái tầm quan trọng của họ trong ánh mắt của Thiên Chúa. Có những tin đồn người ta nói rằng Thánh Luca có thể là một trong bảy mươi hai người mà Chúa Giêsu đã chọn và sai đi rao giảng Lời Chúa như trong đoạn Tin Mừng hôm nay (Lc. 10). Vì lý do mà ông đã theo Chúa ngay từ lúc đầu, nên Thánh Luca đã chứng kiến được tận mắt những việc mà Thiên Chúa đã chữa lành những ngưòi bệnh tật, cũng như chứng kiến được cảnh Chúa Giêsu luôn có những cử chỉ săn sóc và để ý riêng đến những người thiếu may mắn và cần có nhu cầu. Qua Tin Mừng của Thánh Luca, chúng ta đã nhìn được rõ sự thương yêu của Chúa Giêsu nơi mọi người một cách riêng biệt và sâu sắc.
Tin Mừng của Thánh Luca được gọi là Tin Mừng của lòng nhân hậu, từ bi và Tin Mừng của niềm vui. Có bao giờ chúng ta đã cảm nhận được là Chúa Giêsu đã nhìn chúng ta bằng con mắt nhân từ với lòng từ bi, nhân hậu?? Lạy Chúa, giúp chúng con biết mang lại niềm vui Tin Mừng đến cho mọi người
St Luke, Evangelist (2 Tim. 4:10-17; Lk. 10:1-9 )
Meditation: Luke 10:1-9 Saint Luke, Evangelist
St Luke was a close companion of Paul, including near the end of Paul's life. Many people deserted Paul in these last years, but Luke chose to faithfully remain with Paul.
‘Who is St Luke? We know that he came from the city of Antioch and worked as a physician. Eventually, he wrote both the Gospel of Luke and Acts of the Apostles. Among other things, his writings express the deep compassion Jesus had for the sick, the poor, women and people living on the margins of society. The Gospel of Luke gives these people a voice. Luke reveals Jesus' tender care for people in need and emphasizes how important they are in God’s sight.
It is said that Luke was also one of the seventy people sent out by Jesus in today’s Gospel passage (Lk. 10). Accordingly, Luke witnessed firsthand how God healed, nourished and blessed people in need. Luke saw that Jesus loved people personally and profoundly. The Gospel of Luke is known as the Gospel of compassion and the Gospel of joy. Have I ever sensed Jesus looking upon me with compassion? Lord, help me to bring the Joy of the Gospel to many people
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.” Luke 10:1–2
Saint Luke, whom we honor today, was a true evangelist. As an evangelist, he followed the inspiration from our Lord and was used to bring God’s saving message to the ends of the earth. And there is little doubt that his ministry will continue to have a transforming effect on the lives of many until the end of the world. Tradition states that Saint Luke became a martyr, being hanged on an olive tree. He is identified in the New Testament as a physician and as a disciple of Saint Paul. Both the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles are attributed to him.
Saint Luke is often spoken of as an evangelist to the gentiles. His Gospel was written in such a way that it didn’t presume a full understanding of the Jewish faith and customs. Therefore, it is believed to have been primarily written for those who are not of Jewish origin. Thus, the life and mission of Saint Luke must remind us that the Gospel needs to be shared with all people, especially with those who do not have a deep and sustaining relationship with God.
In today’s Gospel from Saint Luke, we read that Jesus sent seventy-two disciples “to every town and place he intended to visit.” Only Luke mentions the larger scale sending of seventy-two disciples. The other Gospels only mention the sending of the Twelve. Though many of these seventy-two disciples would have gone to Jewish territory, some would have unquestionably gone to non-Jewish territory. The mission of these seventy-two was to prepare everyone they encountered for the preaching of Jesus and for the establishment of the Kingdom of God.
As we honor Saint Luke today and read this passage from his Gospel, we are reminded that we are all sent by our Lord. We are sent to those who share our faith, such as family, friends and fellow parishioners. We are sent to love them and do all we can to help deepen their faith and love of God. But we are also called to share the Gospel with those who do not yet know Jesus as their Savior. There are so many people we encounter every day who have never truly met our Lord. Are there people in your life that God is calling you to reach out to? Who do you know that God may be calling you to share the Gospel with?
Reflect, today, upon the fact that the Gospel is meant for everyone. Speak to our Lord and tell Him that you are ready and willing to be used by Him to bring His saving message to others. As you do so, wait on the Lord, listen to His inspiration, and respond when He calls. If someone comes to mind whom you sense God is calling you to evangelize, begin to pray for that person. Pray for them every day and be attentive to any inspiration God gives you to share His love and saving message with them. Do not be afraid to be an evangelist like Saint Luke. Doing so might make an eternal difference in someone’s life.
My saving Lord, You sent Your disciples on a mission to share Your saving message with all. Today I especially thank You for the life and ministry of Saint Luke. Please use me, dear Lord, to imitate his wonderful example and to share Your glorious life with others. Please lead me and inspire me to especially reach out to those whom You have put into my life. Jesus, I trust in You.
Opening Prayer: In today’s psalm you make us a promise: The Lord is near to all who call upon him, to all who call upon him in truth. I call upon you right now! I call upon you to be with me, to comfort me, to enlighten me, to grant me all the grace I need so that I can live this day to the full, glorifying you and moving forward on the path of holiness.
1. Seventy-Two: In Jewish tradition, the number seventy-two (or seventy, depending on the sources) has symbolic significance. It was considered the number of gentile nations in the world. It was the number of members of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish governing body. It was the number of elders chosen to assist Moses. Scholars disagree about how to link these Old Testament realities to Christ’s choice to send out seventy-two disciples, in addition to his original Twelve Apostles. Many Catholic spiritual writers, however, see in this gesture a preview of Christ’s great commission to his Church, given after his Resurrection and right before his Ascension, to “go and make disciples of all nations.” Jesus wants his Gospel to spread. He wants the peace that comes with his mercy and truth to spread. He wants all people in every single corner of time and history to discover that God loves them and enter into friendship with him. This is the deepest desire of his heart. And this is why Pope St. Paul VI could write: Evangelizing is in fact the grace and vocation proper to the Church, her deepest identity. She exists in order to evangelize (Evangelii nuntiandi, 14). Is that how I think about the Church and my role in the Church?
Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will make a special visit to a Eucharistic chapel and offer a decade of the rosary (or some other prayer) to ask the master of the harvest to send out workers to his harvest.
A few decades ago, a team of salespeople would have mapped out their territory and assigned a particular town to each salesperson. The salespeople would go to every home in that town, and if the door opened, they would try to sell their product, whether it was vacuum cleaners, encyclopedias, suits, or anything else.
Now, in the age of huge department stores and Internet shopping, that personal approach isn’t practical anymore. Some might even call it old-fashioned and inefficient.
But that’s not the way Jesus looks at things. In fact, he used an “old-fashioned” approach when he sent out the seventy-two disciples. He could have just beamed his message of salvation into people’s brains and avoided all the messiness using ordinary human beings. Instead, he chose rough-hewn tradesmen and their wives to go out and deliver it personally. He sent them to demonstrate his message in action and then tell people that the kingdom of God was at hand.
We may wonder why Jesus would use such low tech means to announce the good news. He certainly isn’t against technology. He might indeed have used the tools of our media-drenched age if they had existed at the time. But then again, he might not. Think about the number of messages that are thrown at you every day. Would you pay attention to one more text message, one more tweet, or one more sound bite? Wouldn’t you be more likely to pay attention to a living, breathing person whose life has been changed by Christ? That’s why the disciples were so effective.
That’s also why Jesus has appointed you to be his witness. You have some very good news to deliver. Evangelization is not about delivering the exactly right facts. It’s about telling your own story of God’s mercy and presence—a story that only you can tell. So don’t worry about doing it perfectly. If God wanted perfection, he wouldn’t have chosen us humans to do the work. Just make yourself available, and let the Spirit work through you. If the seventy-two could do it, so can you!
“Lord, help me to see my corner of the world as your mission field. Give me a compassionate heart so that I can witness to your love and grace
Let’s think about Luke, whose feast is today. He was in the first wave of foreign converts to the Faith, and his Gospel could be said to be for foreigners: for people who were not familiar with Jewish Law and custom. It is distinctive in many ways.
1. It was not written for Jews but for Gentiles, in other words, for the likes of you and me. For example, he seldom quotes the Old Testament, and never refers to Jesus as Rabbi (a Hebrew title), but as Master (a Greek title). He traces the genealogy of Jesus not from Abraham (the founder of the Jewish race) but from Adam (the ‘founder’ of the human race). He alone tells the parable of the Good Samaritan (a non-Jew). He has a habit of giving people and places the Greek equivalent of their Hebrew names: Go
“The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few.” (Luke 10:2)
A few decades ago, a team of salespeople would have mapped out their territory and assigned a particular town to each salesperson. The salespeople would go to every home in that town, and if the door opened, they would try to sell their product, whether it was vacuum cleaners, encyclopedias, suits, or anything else. Now, in the age of huge department stores and Internet shopping, that personal approach isn’t practical anymore. Some might even call it old-fashioned and inefficient. It was not written for Jews but for Gentiles, in other words, for the likes of you and me. For example, he seldom quotes the Old Testament, and never refers to Jesus as Rabbi (a Hebrew title), but as Master (a Greek title). He traces the genealogy of Jesus not from Abraham (the founder of the Jewish race) but from Adam (the ‘founder’ of the human race). He alone tells the parable of the Good Samaritan (a non-Jew). He has a habit of giving people and places the Greek equivalent of their Hebrew names: Golgotha becomes Kranion, the Place of the Skull.
Women feature very distinctively. For example, the nativity story is told from Mary's point of view. Other women are: Elizabeth, Anna, the widow of Naim, and the woman who anointed Jesus’ feet.
It is especially a Gospel of prayer and praise. He shows Jesus praying at all key moments of his life. Luke alone has the parable of the Friend at Midnight. The phrase “praising God” occurs more often in Luke than in all the others together: see especially the three great canticles, the Magnificat, the Benedictus and the Nunc Dimittis.
What we would lack if we didn’t have Luke’s gospel: a) the infancy stories, b) seventeen parables, c) the three canticles mentioned above….lgotha becomes Kranion, the Place of the Skull.
3. It is especially a Gospel of prayer and praise. He shows Jesus praying at all key moments of his life. Luke alone has the parable of the Friend at Midnight. The phrase “praising God” occurs more often in Luke than in all the others together: see especially the three great canticles, the Magnificat, the Benedictus and the Nunc Dimittis. . What we would lack if we didn’t have Luke’s gospel: a) the infancy stories, b) seventeen parables, c) the three canticles mentioned above….
No comments:
Post a Comment