Feast of Saint Luke, Evangelist

Biographical Information about St. Luke
 

“Saint Luke as a Painter before Christ on the Cross”
by Francisco de Zurbarán, c. 1660

Readings for the Feast of St. Luke [1]
 
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [2]
 
Readings and Commentary: [3]
 
Reading 1: 2 Timothy 4:10-17b
 
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.
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Commentary on 2 Tm 4:10-17b
 
St. Paul, when this letter was written, is on his second missionary journey.  Just before his martyrdom, he has run into significant opposition, and his companions, with the exception of “Luke” (believed to be the Evangelist) have deserted him. (Note: Luke was also mentioned in the Apostle’s earlier travels in Colossians 4:14 and Philemon 24.)The Lord, however, through his divine assistance, has kept St. Paul’s mission alive and effective.
 
The Apostle mentions Demas. He was one of Paul's companions and had traveled with him for some time. Demas could not continue to endure Paul’s austere lifestyle and was afraid of the coming persecution. Here Paul says Demas has deserted him.  Similarly, others in his party also left on various missions, leaving only St. Luke the Evangelist with him.
 
“St. Paul points to the contrast between the way men treat him and the way God does.  Because of the hazards involved in staying with Paul or defending him some of his friends, even some of his closest friends, have deserted him; whereas God stays by his side.” [4]
CCC: 2 Tm 4 2015
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 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 your faithful bless you.
They speak of the glory of your reign
and tell of your great works,
R. Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.
 
Making known to all your power,
the glorious splendor of your rule.
Your reign is a reign for all ages,
your dominion for all generations.
R. Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.
 
You, LORD, are just in all your ways,
faithful in all your works
You, LORD, are near to all who call upon you,
to all who call upon you in truth.
R. Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.
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Commentary on Ps 145:10-11, 12-13, 17-18
 
Psalm 145 is a hymn of praise. These strophes call on the faithful to give thanks to God for opening the gates of his Heavenly Kingdom. The psalmist (David) rejoices in the image of God’s Heavenly Kingdom, as its very existence announces God’s glory to the world. They continue praising God for his justice, and his creating hand. God in turn supports his faithful servants and blesses their efforts.
 
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Gospel: Luke 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.’”
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Commentary on Lk 10:1-9
 
It is only in the Gospel of St. Luke that we hear the story of Jesus sending the seventy (two). This event is supported by other non-biblical writings (see Eusebius of Caesarea (c. 265-c. 340) Church History, Book. 1). The instructions given to those sent out are very similar to the instructions given to the Twelve, as was the message they were sent to proclaim.
 
This selection emphasizes Jesus' early struggle to accomplish what he came to do by himself. We sense the humanness as he says: "The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few." We also find this event and statement in St. Matthew’s Gospel where instead of the 72 he names the 12 (Matthew 10:1-8). While in St. Matthew’s story Jesus sends them first to the Hebrew people, St. Luke makes no such distinction.
 
This effort by Jesus was modeled on Moses’ leadership structure in which 70 elders were appointed (Numbers 11:24-25). It is also possible that the reference number 70 relates to the number of nations mentioned in Genesis 10. The disciples were sent two by two, a custom that would be replicated later in the post-resurrection missionary activities of the Church (see Acts 8:14; 15:39-40).
 
In another historical similarity, the disciples were sent without possessions, presumably depending upon the traditionally required hospitality for their support. Similar instructions were given by the prophet Elisha as he sent his servant in 2 Kings 4:29.
 
The Lord’s instructions concerning this hospitality “the laborer deserves payment” is also quoted in St. Paul’s first letter to Timothy (1 Timothy 5:18b) and has further support in 1 Corinthians 9:7, 14. Those who labor on behalf of the Gospel and cannot take time to support themselves deserve the support of the community. In a final twist, the Lord’s instruction to “eat what is set before you” sets aside Mosaic dietary laws (also 1 Corinthians 10:27 and Acts 10:25). It is a clear indication that the scope of their mission is to call all peoples to the Gospel.
 
CCC: Lk 10:1-2 765; Lk 10:2 2611; Lk 10:7 2122
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Reflection:
 
As we reflect upon St. Luke and his amazing gift to us, the Gospel he wrote and the Acts of the Apostles which he penned as a companion we cannot help but think about the journey he undertook and the situations he encountered.  Some of the people and places must have been open and welcoming – if they had all been full of doubt and persecution, the seventy (two) would not have been rejoicing when they returned.
 
While we may often wonder about these exploits, there are some accounts related by early Church historians that can fuel our zeal and imagination.  At the risk of running long – I give you one such account from the cited second century account by Eusebius of Caesarea taken from the first volume of his Church History.  In this passage he recounts the exploits of one of the seventy:
 
Chapter 13. Narrative concerning the Prince of the Edessenes.
1. The divinity of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ being noised abroad among all men on account of his wonder-working power, he attracted countless numbers from foreign countries lying far away from Judea, who had the hope of being cured of their diseases and of all kinds of sufferings.
 
2. For instance the King Abgarus, who ruled with great glory the nations beyond the Euphrates, being afflicted with a terrible disease which it was beyond the power of human skill to cure, when he heard of the name of Jesus, and of his miracles, which were attested by all with one accord sent a message to him by a courier and begged him to heal his disease.
 
3. But he did not at that time comply with his request; yet he deemed him worthy of a personal letter in which he said that he would send one of his disciples to cure his disease, and at the same time promised salvation to himself and all his house.
 
4. Not long afterward his promise was fulfilled. For after his resurrection from the dead and his ascent into heaven, Thomas, one of the twelve apostles, under divine impulse sent Thaddeus, who was also numbered among the seventy disciples of Christ, to Edessa, as a preacher and evangelist of the teaching of Christ.
 
5. And all that our Savior had promised received through him its fulfillment. You have written evidence of these things taken from the archives of Edessa, which was at that time a royal city. For in the public registers there, which contain accounts of ancient times and the acts of Abgarus, these things have been found preserved down to the present time. But there is no better way than to hear the epistles themselves which we have taken from the archives and have literally translated from the Syriac language in the following manner.
 
Copy of an epistle written by Abgarus the ruler to Jesus, and sent to him at Jerusalem by Ananias the swift courier.
6. Abgarus, ruler of Edessa, to Jesus the excellent Savior who has appeared in the country of Jerusalem, greeting. I have heard the reports of you and of your cures as performed by you without medicines or herbs. For it is said that you make the blind to see and the lame to walk, that you cleanse lepers and cast out impure spirits and demons, and that you heal those afflicted with lingering disease, and raise the dead.
 
7. And having heard all these things concerning you, I have concluded that one of two things must be true: either you are God, and having come down from heaven you do these things, or else you, who does these things, are the Son of God.
 
8. I have therefore written to you to ask you if you would take the trouble to come to me and heal the disease which I have. For I have heard that the Jews are murmuring against you and are plotting to injure you. But I have a very small yet noble city which is great enough for us both.
 
The answer of Jesus to the ruler Abgarus by the courier Ananias.
9. “Blessed are you who hast believed in me without having seen me. For it is written concerning me, that they who have seen me will not believe in me, and that they who have not seen me will believe and be saved. But in regard to what you have written me, that I should come to you, it is necessary for me to fulfill all things here for which I have been sent, and after I have fulfilled them thus to be taken up again to him that sent me. But after I have been taken up I will send to you one of my disciples, that he may heal your disease and give life to you and yours.”[5]
 
What must make us tremble as we read this account is our knowledge that, like the seventy, we are sent with the same mission as the one who came to the king after the Lord’s resurrection.  We too are sent.
 
Pax
 
In other years on this date: Tuesday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time
 

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[1] The picture is  “Saint Luke as a Painter before Christ on the Cross” by Francisco de Zurbarán, c. 1660.
[2] S.S. Commemoratio
[3] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[4] Letters of St. Paul, The Navarre Bible, Four Courts Press, 2003 p. 606,
[5] From Eusebius of Caesarea (c. 265-c. 340) Church History, Book. 1.