18^th October, Feast of Saint Luke

Today we celebrate the feast of one of the four evangelists. He is the only evangelist to have written both a gospel and what we have come to call the Acts of the Apostles. His literary work in two parts makes up about one quarter of the New Testament. The early church attributed this two volume work to one of the co-workers of Saint Paul, a man called Luke. He features in today’s first reading. At a vulnerable moment in his life, Saint Paul writes, ‘only Luke is with me’. Paul was very aware of his reliance on co-workers, like Luke. Paul’s ministry was very much a team ministry. On several occasions in his letters, Paul gives us the names of his team of co-workers, men and women. Luke’s gospel portrays Jesus as also relying upon a team of co-workers. In a passage that is only found in his gospel, Luke tells us that, as Jesus went on his way proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God, as well as being accompanied by the twelve, he was also accompanied by a group of women who provided for him and the twelve out of their resources. In today’s gospel reading, another passage that is unique to Luke’s gospel, Jesus sends out seventy-two co-workers, in pairs, as labourers in God’s harvest. Before sending them out, he asks them to prayerfully ask the Lord of the harvest to send even more labourers into his harvest. Jesus knew that he needed a large team of men and women if the good news was to be heard by those who needed to hear it. The risen Lord continues to need a very large team of labourers today because God’s harvest continues to be rich. All of us, in virtue of our baptism, are called by the Lord to be his labourers in today’s world. He needs us, firstly, to allow ourselves to be personally touched by his gospel of God’s loving presence, and, then, to go forth and bring this gospel, this good news, to others by our whole way of life. Regardless of the circumstances of our life, each one of us has a role to play in the Lord’s great work of bringing the gospel to others today. As Pope Francis often says, we are all called to be missionary disciples. Today, we ask Saint Luke to help us to be true to this calling of the Lord.