Feast of Saint Luke, evangelist
Lectionary: 661
Lectionary: 661
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.
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.
Responsorial
PsalmPS 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 let your faithful ones bless you.
Let them discourse of the glory of your Kingdom
and speak of your might.
R. Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.
Making known to men your might
and the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.
Your Kingdom is a Kingdom for all ages,
and your dominion endures through all generations.
R. Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.
The LORD is just in all his ways
and holy in all his works.
The LORD is near to all who call upon him,
to all who call upon him in truth.
R. Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.
Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD,
and let your faithful ones bless you.
Let them discourse of the glory of your Kingdom
and speak of your might.
R. Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.
Making known to men your might
and the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.
Your Kingdom is a Kingdom for all ages,
and your dominion endures through all generations.
R. Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.
The LORD is just in all his ways
and holy in all his works.
The LORD is near to all who call upon him,
to all who call upon him in truth.
R. Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.
AlleluiaSEE JN 15:16
R. Alleluia,
alleluia.
I chose you from the world,
to go and bear fruit that will last, says the Lord.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I chose you from the world,
to go and bear fruit that will last, says the Lord.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelLK 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 is at hand for you.'"
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 is at hand for you.'"
Meditation: "The kingdom of God has
come near to you"
What kind of harvest does the Lord want us to reap
today for his kingdom? When Jesus commissioned seventy of his disciples to go
on mission, he gave them a vision of a vast field that is ready to be harvested
for the kingdom of God. Jesus frequently used the image of a harvest to convey
the coming of God's reign on earth. The harvest is the fruition of much labor
and growth - beginning with the sowing of seeds, then growth to maturity, and
finally the reaping of fruit for the harvest.
God's word grows like a seed within us
In like manner, the word of God is sown in the hearts of receptive men and women who hear his word, accept it with trust and obedience, and then share the abundant fruit of God's word in their life with others. The harvest Jesus had in mind was not only the gathering in of the people of Israel, but all the peoples (and nations) of the world. John the Evangelist tells us that "God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16).
In like manner, the word of God is sown in the hearts of receptive men and women who hear his word, accept it with trust and obedience, and then share the abundant fruit of God's word in their life with others. The harvest Jesus had in mind was not only the gathering in of the people of Israel, but all the peoples (and nations) of the world. John the Evangelist tells us that "God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16).
Be a sower of God's word of peace and mercy
What does Jesus mean when he says his disciples must be "lambs in the midst of wolves"? The prophet Isaiah foretold a time when wolves and lambs will dwell in peace (Isaiah 11:6 and 65:25). This certainly refers to the second coming of the Lord Jesus when all will be united under the Lordship of Jesus after he has put down his enemies and established the reign of God over the heavens and the earth. In the meantime, the disciples must expect opposition and persecution from those who would oppose the Gospel. Jesus came to lay down his life for us, as our sacrificial lamb, to atone for our sins and the sins of the world. We, in turn, must be willing to offer our lives with gratitude and humble service for our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
What does Jesus mean when he says his disciples must be "lambs in the midst of wolves"? The prophet Isaiah foretold a time when wolves and lambs will dwell in peace (Isaiah 11:6 and 65:25). This certainly refers to the second coming of the Lord Jesus when all will be united under the Lordship of Jesus after he has put down his enemies and established the reign of God over the heavens and the earth. In the meantime, the disciples must expect opposition and persecution from those who would oppose the Gospel. Jesus came to lay down his life for us, as our sacrificial lamb, to atone for our sins and the sins of the world. We, in turn, must be willing to offer our lives with gratitude and humble service for our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
We are called to speak and witness in God's name
What is the significance of Jesus appointing seventy disciples to the ministry of the word? Seventy was a significant number in biblical times. Moses chose seventy elders to help him in the task of leading the people through the wilderness. The Jewish Sanhedrin, the governing council for the nation of Israel, was composed of seventy members. In Jesus' times seventy was held to be the number of nations throughout the world. Jesus commissioned the seventy to a two-fold task - to speak in his name and to act with his power.
What is the significance of Jesus appointing seventy disciples to the ministry of the word? Seventy was a significant number in biblical times. Moses chose seventy elders to help him in the task of leading the people through the wilderness. The Jewish Sanhedrin, the governing council for the nation of Israel, was composed of seventy members. In Jesus' times seventy was held to be the number of nations throughout the world. Jesus commissioned the seventy to a two-fold task - to speak in his name and to act with his power.
Jesus gave his disciples instructions for how they
were to carry out their ministry. They must go and serve as people without
guile, full of charity (selfless giving in love) and peace, and simplicity.
They must give their full attention to the proclamation of God's kingdom and
not be diverted by other lesser things. They must travel light - only
take what was essential and leave behind whatever would distract them - in
order to concentrate on the task of speaking the word of the God. They must do
their work, not for what they can get out of it, but for what they can give
freely to others, without expecting reward or payment. "Poverty of
spirit" frees us from greed and preoccupation with possessions and makes
ample room for God's provision. The Lord Jesus wants his disciples to be
dependent on him and not on themselves.
God gives us his life-giving word that we may have
abundant life in him. He wills to work in and through each of us for his glory.
God shares his word with us and he commissions us to speak it boldly and
plainly to others. Do you witness the truth and joy of the Gospel by word and
example to those around you?
"Lord Jesus, may the joy and truth of the Gospel
transform my life that I may witness it to those around me. Grant that I may
spread your truth and merciful love wherever I go."
Daily Quote from the early church fathers: Jesus the Good Shepherd changes wolves into
sheep, by Cyril of Alexandria (376-444
AD)
"How then does [Jesus] command the holy apostles,
who are innocent men and 'sheep,' to seek the company of wolves, and go to them
of their own will? Is not the danger apparent? Are they not set up as ready
prey for their attacks? How can a sheep prevail over a wolf? How can one so
peaceful conquer the savageness of beasts of prey? 'Yes,' he says, 'for they
all have me as their Shepherd: small and great, people and princes, teachers
and students. I will be with you, help you, and deliver you from all evil. I
will tame the savage beasts. I will change wolves into sheep, and I will make
the persecutors become the helpers of the persecuted. I will make those who
wrong my ministers to be sharers in their pious designs. I make and unmake all
things, and nothing can resist my will.'" (excerpt from COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 61)
FEAST OF
SAINT LUKE, EVANGELIST
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 18, LUKE 10:1-9
(2 Timothy 4:10-17b; Psalm 145)
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 18, LUKE 10:1-9
(2 Timothy 4:10-17b; Psalm 145)
KEY VERSE: "The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few" (v 2).
TO KNOW: Moses appointed seventy elders to assist him in the governance of the people (Ex 18:19, 24:1-9). In the same manner, after Jesus commissioned the Twelve Apostles (Lk 9:1-6), he sent forth another seventy-two disciples (six times twelve), which corresponds to all the nations listed in Genesis 10. Jesus sent them out two-by-two to proclaim the kingdom of God. We don’t go it alone! These disciples were his representatives; therefore, they deserved the support of those who benefited from their ministry. Jesus warned the disciples that they would be like helpless sheep exposed to prey, and must depend upon God's providence and protection. As God's messengers, they must alert the people that God's reign was at hand. Severe judgment was in store for those who rejected the call to repentance. Jesus prayed that more laborers would answer God's call to prepare the soil for the rich harvest that was to come.
TO LOVE: Let us "who hold and teach the Catholic faith that comes to us from the apostles" continue in our own time to hand on the faith that we have received, just as the apostles did in their time [Eucharistic Prayer I].
TO SERVE: St. Luke, pray for me that I might have your zeal to proclaim the Gospel.
FEAST OF SAINT LUKE, EVANGELIST
Luke is commonly thought to be the only non-Jewish writer in the New Testament. Luke was not an Apostle, nor an eye witness to the life, death and resurrection of Christ He obtained some of the material for his gospel from Mark's gospel and from others who compiled narratives about Jesus (Lk 1:1-4). According to the letter to the Colossians, Luke was a physician (Col 4:14), and tradition says that he was also an artist. Luke may have accompanied Paul on his second and third missionary journey (Acts 16:10ff; 20:5ff; 27-28), and might have been with Paul during his imprisonment (Phlm 24). After Paul's death, Luke wrote a second book, "The Acts of the Apostles." Luke's writings show the development of the early Church in the context of the Roman Empire, and also focus on Jerusalem and the Temple. Material found only in Luke's gospel includes much of the account of Jesus' birth and boyhood. We find an emphasis on the love of Jesus in his compassion for sinners, suffering persons, for outcasts, and for the poor. The role of women in is more emphasized in Luke than in other gospel writings. Luke died a martyr.
Wednesday 18
October 2017
St Luke Evangelist.
2 Timothy
4:10-17. Psalm 144(145):10-13, 17-18. Luke 10:1-9.
Your
friends tell the glory of your kingship, Lord — Psalm 144(145):10-13, 17-18.
‘The
Kingdom of God has come near to you.’
St Luke contributed about a
quarter of the New Testament. His name is attached to the third gospel, as well
as the Book of the Acts of the Apostles.
St Luke is one of the great
artisans of the early church. He wrote the story of Jesus with a particular
emphasis on compassion, inclusivity and hospitality. He left many unique stories,
such as the infancy narratives, and the Good Samaritan and the Prodigal Son.
Let us give thanks for the Good News St Luke has left us. How do we live the
story of Jesus?
ST. LUKE THE EVANGELIST
On October 18, Catholics and other Christians
around the world will celebrate the feast of St. Luke, the physician and
companion of St. Paul whose gospel preserved the most extensive biography of
Jesus Christ.
St. Luke wrote a greater volume of the New Testament than any other single author, including the earliest history of the Church. Ancient traditions also acknowledge Luke as the founder of Christian iconography, making him a patron of artists as well as doctors and other medical caregivers.
Luke came from the large metropolitan city of Antioch, a part of modern-day Turkey. In Luke's lifetime, his native city emerged as an important center of early Christianity. During the future saint's early years, the city's port had already become a cultural center, renowned for arts and sciences. Historians do not know whether Luke came to Christianity from Judaism or paganism, although there are strong suggestions that Luke was a gentile convert.
Educated as a physician in the Greek-speaking city, Luke was among the most cultured and cosmopolitan members of the early Church. Scholars of archeology and ancient literature have ranked him among the top historians of his time period, besides noting the outstanding Greek prose style and technical accuracy of his accounts of Christ's life and the apostles' missionary journeys.
Other students of biblical history adduce from Luke's writings that he was the only evangelist to incorporate the personal testimony of the Blessed Virgin Mary, whose role in Christ's life emerges most clearly in his gospel. Tradition credits him with painting several icons of Christ's mother, and one of the sacred portraits ascribed to him – known by the title “Salvation of the Roman People”-- survives to this day in the Basilica of St. Mary Major.
Some traditions hold that Luke became a direct disciple of Jesus before his ascension, while others hold that he became a believer only afterward. After St. Paul's conversion, Luke accompanied him as his personal physician-- and, in effect, as a kind of biographer, since the journeys of Paul on which Luke accompanied him occupy a large portion of the Acts of the Apostles. Luke probably wrote this text, the final narrative portion of the New Testament, in the city of Rome where the account ends.
Luke was also among the only companions of Paul who did not abandon him during his final imprisonment and death in Rome. After the martyrdom of St. Paul in the year 67, St. Luke is said to have preached elsewhere throughout the Mediterranean, and possibly died as a martyr. However, even tradition is unclear on this point. Fittingly, the evangelist whose travels and erudition could have filled volumes, wrote just enough to proclaim the gospel and apostolic preaching to the world.
Patronage: artists, bachelors, bookbinders, brewers, butchers, doctors, glass makers, glassworkers, gold workers, goldsmiths, lacemakers, lace workers, notaries, painters, physicians, sculptors, stained glass workers, surgeons.
St. Luke wrote a greater volume of the New Testament than any other single author, including the earliest history of the Church. Ancient traditions also acknowledge Luke as the founder of Christian iconography, making him a patron of artists as well as doctors and other medical caregivers.
Luke came from the large metropolitan city of Antioch, a part of modern-day Turkey. In Luke's lifetime, his native city emerged as an important center of early Christianity. During the future saint's early years, the city's port had already become a cultural center, renowned for arts and sciences. Historians do not know whether Luke came to Christianity from Judaism or paganism, although there are strong suggestions that Luke was a gentile convert.
Educated as a physician in the Greek-speaking city, Luke was among the most cultured and cosmopolitan members of the early Church. Scholars of archeology and ancient literature have ranked him among the top historians of his time period, besides noting the outstanding Greek prose style and technical accuracy of his accounts of Christ's life and the apostles' missionary journeys.
Other students of biblical history adduce from Luke's writings that he was the only evangelist to incorporate the personal testimony of the Blessed Virgin Mary, whose role in Christ's life emerges most clearly in his gospel. Tradition credits him with painting several icons of Christ's mother, and one of the sacred portraits ascribed to him – known by the title “Salvation of the Roman People”-- survives to this day in the Basilica of St. Mary Major.
Some traditions hold that Luke became a direct disciple of Jesus before his ascension, while others hold that he became a believer only afterward. After St. Paul's conversion, Luke accompanied him as his personal physician-- and, in effect, as a kind of biographer, since the journeys of Paul on which Luke accompanied him occupy a large portion of the Acts of the Apostles. Luke probably wrote this text, the final narrative portion of the New Testament, in the city of Rome where the account ends.
Luke was also among the only companions of Paul who did not abandon him during his final imprisonment and death in Rome. After the martyrdom of St. Paul in the year 67, St. Luke is said to have preached elsewhere throughout the Mediterranean, and possibly died as a martyr. However, even tradition is unclear on this point. Fittingly, the evangelist whose travels and erudition could have filled volumes, wrote just enough to proclaim the gospel and apostolic preaching to the world.
Patronage: artists, bachelors, bookbinders, brewers, butchers, doctors, glass makers, glassworkers, gold workers, goldsmiths, lacemakers, lace workers, notaries, painters, physicians, sculptors, stained glass workers, surgeons.
LECTIO DIVINA: ST. LUKE - LUKE
10,1-9
Lectio Divina:
Wednesday, October 18, 2017
Ordinary
Time
1)
Opening prayer
Lord,
our help and guide,
make your love the foundation of our lives.
May our love for you express itself
in our eagerness to do good for others.
You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
our help and guide,
make your love the foundation of our lives.
May our love for you express itself
in our eagerness to do good for others.
You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading - Luke 10,1-9
The Lord appointed seventy-two others
and sent them out ahead of Him in pairs, to all the towns and places He himself
would be visiting. And He said to them, 'The harvest is rich but the laborers
are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send laborers to do his harvesting.
Start off now, but look, I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Take no
purse with you, no haversack, no sandals. Salute no one on the road.
Whatever house you enter, let your first words be, "Peace to this house!" And if a man of peace lives there, your peace will go and rest on him; if not, it will come back to you. Stay in the same house, taking what food and drink they have to offer, for the laborer deserves his wages; do not move from house to house.
Whenever you go into a town where they make you welcome, eat what is put before you. Cure those in it who are sick, and say, "The kingdom of God is very near to you."
Whatever house you enter, let your first words be, "Peace to this house!" And if a man of peace lives there, your peace will go and rest on him; if not, it will come back to you. Stay in the same house, taking what food and drink they have to offer, for the laborer deserves his wages; do not move from house to house.
Whenever you go into a town where they make you welcome, eat what is put before you. Cure those in it who are sick, and say, "The kingdom of God is very near to you."
3) Reflection
● Today, on the feast of the Evangelist
Saint Luke, the Gospel presents to us the sending out of the seventy-two
disciples who have to announce the Good News of God in the villages and in the
cities of Galilee. We are the seventy-two who come after the Twelve. Through
the mission of the disciples, Jesus seeks to recover the community values of
the tradition of the people who felt crushed by the twofold slavery of the
Roman domination and by the official religion. Jesus tries to renew and
organize the communities in such a way that again they are an expression of the
Covenant, an example of the Kingdom of God. This is why He insists in hospitality,
sharing, communion, and acceptance of the excluded. This insistence of Jesus is
found in the advice that He gave to his disciples when He sent them out on
mission. At the time of Jesus there were other movements which, like Jesus,
were looking for a new way to live and to live together. John the Baptist, the
Pharisees and others for example. They also formed communities of disciples (Jn
1, 35; Lk 11, 1; Ac 19, 3) and they had their missionaries (Mt 23, 15). But as
we will see there was a great difference.
● Luke 10, 1-3: The Mission. Jesus sends out the disciples to the places where He wanted to go. The disciple is the spokesperson of Jesus. He is not the owner of the Good News. He sends them out two by two. That favors reciprocal help, because the mission is not individual, but rather it is a community mission.
● Luke 10, 2-3: Co-responsibility. The first task is to pray in order that God sends laborers. All the disciples have to feel that they are responsible for the mission. This is why I should pray to the Father for the continuity of the mission. Jesus sends out his disciples as lambs in the middle of wolves. The mission is a difficult and dangerous task because the system in which the disciples lived, and in which we live, was and continues to be contrary to the reorganization of living communities.
● Luke 10, 4-6: Hospitality. Contrary to the other missionaries, the disciples of Jesus should not take anything with them, no haversack, no sandals; but they should take peace. This means that they have to trust in the hospitality of the people. This is because the disciple who goes without anything, taking only peace, indicates that he trusts in people. He thinks that he will be welcomed and people will feel respected and confirmed. By means of this practice the disciple criticizes the laws of exclusion and recovers the ancient values of life in a community. Do not greet anybody on the way means that no time should be lost with things which do not belong to the mission.
● Luke 10, 7: Sharing. The disciples should not go from house to house, but they should remain in the same house. That is, that they should live together with others in a stable way, participate in the life and work of the people and live from what they receive in exchange, because the laborer deserves his wages. This means that they should trust the sharing. Thus, by means of this new practice, they recover an ancient tradition of the people, criticizing a culture of accumulation which characterized the politics of the Roman Empire and they announced a new model of living together.
● Luke 10, 8: Communion around the table. When the Pharisees went on mission, they got ready. They thought that they could not trust the food the people would give them and that it was not always ritually “pure”. For this reason they took with them a haversack, a purse and money to be able to get their own food. Thus, instead of helping to overcome divisions, the observance of the laws of purity weakened the living out of the community values even more. The disciples of Jesus should eat whatever the people offered them. They could not live separated, eating their own food. This means that they should accept sharing around the table. They should not be afraid to lose legal purity in contact with the people. Acting in that way, they criticize the laws which are in force, and they announce a new access to purity, that it is intimacy with God.
● Luke 10, 9a: The acceptance of the excluded. The disciples have to take care of the sick, cure the lepers and cast out devils (Mt 10, 8). That means that they should accept those who were excluded within the community. This practice of solidarity criticizes the society that excluded many and indicates concrete ways for changing this. This is what the pastoral ministry with the excluded, migrants and marginalized does today.
● Luke 10, 9b: The coming of the Kingdom. If these requests are respected, then the disciples can and should shout out to all parts of the world: The Kingdom of God has arrived! To proclaim the Kingdom is not, in the first place, to teach truth and doctrine, but to lead toward a new way of living and living together as brothers and sisters starting from the Good News which Jesus has proclaimed to us: God is Father and Mother of all of us.
● Luke 10, 1-3: The Mission. Jesus sends out the disciples to the places where He wanted to go. The disciple is the spokesperson of Jesus. He is not the owner of the Good News. He sends them out two by two. That favors reciprocal help, because the mission is not individual, but rather it is a community mission.
● Luke 10, 2-3: Co-responsibility. The first task is to pray in order that God sends laborers. All the disciples have to feel that they are responsible for the mission. This is why I should pray to the Father for the continuity of the mission. Jesus sends out his disciples as lambs in the middle of wolves. The mission is a difficult and dangerous task because the system in which the disciples lived, and in which we live, was and continues to be contrary to the reorganization of living communities.
● Luke 10, 4-6: Hospitality. Contrary to the other missionaries, the disciples of Jesus should not take anything with them, no haversack, no sandals; but they should take peace. This means that they have to trust in the hospitality of the people. This is because the disciple who goes without anything, taking only peace, indicates that he trusts in people. He thinks that he will be welcomed and people will feel respected and confirmed. By means of this practice the disciple criticizes the laws of exclusion and recovers the ancient values of life in a community. Do not greet anybody on the way means that no time should be lost with things which do not belong to the mission.
● Luke 10, 7: Sharing. The disciples should not go from house to house, but they should remain in the same house. That is, that they should live together with others in a stable way, participate in the life and work of the people and live from what they receive in exchange, because the laborer deserves his wages. This means that they should trust the sharing. Thus, by means of this new practice, they recover an ancient tradition of the people, criticizing a culture of accumulation which characterized the politics of the Roman Empire and they announced a new model of living together.
● Luke 10, 8: Communion around the table. When the Pharisees went on mission, they got ready. They thought that they could not trust the food the people would give them and that it was not always ritually “pure”. For this reason they took with them a haversack, a purse and money to be able to get their own food. Thus, instead of helping to overcome divisions, the observance of the laws of purity weakened the living out of the community values even more. The disciples of Jesus should eat whatever the people offered them. They could not live separated, eating their own food. This means that they should accept sharing around the table. They should not be afraid to lose legal purity in contact with the people. Acting in that way, they criticize the laws which are in force, and they announce a new access to purity, that it is intimacy with God.
● Luke 10, 9a: The acceptance of the excluded. The disciples have to take care of the sick, cure the lepers and cast out devils (Mt 10, 8). That means that they should accept those who were excluded within the community. This practice of solidarity criticizes the society that excluded many and indicates concrete ways for changing this. This is what the pastoral ministry with the excluded, migrants and marginalized does today.
● Luke 10, 9b: The coming of the Kingdom. If these requests are respected, then the disciples can and should shout out to all parts of the world: The Kingdom of God has arrived! To proclaim the Kingdom is not, in the first place, to teach truth and doctrine, but to lead toward a new way of living and living together as brothers and sisters starting from the Good News which Jesus has proclaimed to us: God is Father and Mother of all of us.
4) Personal questions
● Hospitality, sharing, communion,
welcoming and acceptance of the excluded: are pillars which support community
life. How does this take place in my community?
● What does it mean for me to be Christian? In an interview on TV a person answered as follows to the journalist: “I am a Christian, I try to live the Gospel, but I do not participate in the community of the Church”. And the journalist commented: “Then do you consider yourself a football player without a team!” Is this my case?
● What does it mean for me to be Christian? In an interview on TV a person answered as follows to the journalist: “I am a Christian, I try to live the Gospel, but I do not participate in the community of the Church”. And the journalist commented: “Then do you consider yourself a football player without a team!” Is this my case?
5) Concluding prayer
All your creatures shall thank you,
Yahweh,
and your faithful shall bless you.
They shall speak of the glory of your kingship
and tell of your might. (Ps 145,10-11)
and your faithful shall bless you.
They shall speak of the glory of your kingship
and tell of your might. (Ps 145,10-11)
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