Daily Retreat 10/18/08
2008 Oct 18 Sat: Luke, ev F
2 Tm 4: 10-17b/ Ps 145: 10-11. 12-13. 17-18/ Lk 10: 1-9
From today’s readings: “Luke is the only one with me.... Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of Your Kingdom.... The Kingdom of God is at hand for you....”
St. Luke
In chapter 4 of St. Luke’s gospel, the stirring manifesto of the Messiah’s mission is presented. Jesus quotes from the book of the prophet Isaiah about how the Lord has sent Him to announce the good news (the Gospel) and to proclaim liberty to the captives, and healing to the blind, and release to the prisoners... and it’s so filled with good news — and yet there's this reaction from the people of Nazareth that they don't want to hear it... in fact, they want to get rid of Jesus. And this is what happens time and time again in this Gospel. Luke paints in inviting detail just how good is the good news. And yet there's people who completely ignore or even reject this good news.
But, Luke also takes great pains to show, not just who Jesus is (the One who brings the good news) but also who are the people who do receive the good news. Luke, more than any other evangelist, has a beautiful picture, a portrait, of the supporting cast: the people who received the good news, who were there with Jesus and are taken up by His message. Now Luke of course, has good reason for this detail, because in his second volume (the Acts of the Apostles) he's going to develop more fully how those people who received the good news, the supporting cast of Jesus, continued to carry out His mission.
So Luke presents this ongoing contrast between those who accept and those who reject the Gospel. Consider, for example, the crucifixion of Christ, there's only one Gospel that sets off the good thief and the bad thief- and that's the Gospel of St Luke. What a contrast - in the hour of death, either humbly crying out, “Jesus, remember me!” or tragically, blaspheming Him. All throughout the Gospel, there are people that get the message and there are people who don't get the message. So you and I, the readers, are presented with this clear option: are we going to humbly accept Jesus and His Gospel, or are we going to tragically ignore and reject Him?
2 Tm 4: 10-17b/ Ps 145: 10-11. 12-13. 17-18/ Lk 10: 1-9
From today’s readings: “Luke is the only one with me.... Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of Your Kingdom.... The Kingdom of God is at hand for you....”
St. Luke
In chapter 4 of St. Luke’s gospel, the stirring manifesto of the Messiah’s mission is presented. Jesus quotes from the book of the prophet Isaiah about how the Lord has sent Him to announce the good news (the Gospel) and to proclaim liberty to the captives, and healing to the blind, and release to the prisoners... and it’s so filled with good news — and yet there's this reaction from the people of Nazareth that they don't want to hear it... in fact, they want to get rid of Jesus. And this is what happens time and time again in this Gospel. Luke paints in inviting detail just how good is the good news. And yet there's people who completely ignore or even reject this good news.
But, Luke also takes great pains to show, not just who Jesus is (the One who brings the good news) but also who are the people who do receive the good news. Luke, more than any other evangelist, has a beautiful picture, a portrait, of the supporting cast: the people who received the good news, who were there with Jesus and are taken up by His message. Now Luke of course, has good reason for this detail, because in his second volume (the Acts of the Apostles) he's going to develop more fully how those people who received the good news, the supporting cast of Jesus, continued to carry out His mission.
So Luke presents this ongoing contrast between those who accept and those who reject the Gospel. Consider, for example, the crucifixion of Christ, there's only one Gospel that sets off the good thief and the bad thief- and that's the Gospel of St Luke. What a contrast - in the hour of death, either humbly crying out, “Jesus, remember me!” or tragically, blaspheming Him. All throughout the Gospel, there are people that get the message and there are people who don't get the message. So you and I, the readers, are presented with this clear option: are we going to humbly accept Jesus and His Gospel, or are we going to tragically ignore and reject Him?
posted by FrPitstick | 10/15/2008
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