Thoughts for the Day

Jesus appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. He said to them 'The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few, therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest. Go on your way. See I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, "Peace to this house!" And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you. Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the labourer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house. Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; cure the sick who are there, and say to them, "The kingdom of God has come near to you." But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, "Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near."

(Church in Wales Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

Luke is one of the Four Evangelists who traditionally wrote the four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John), that give us the life and death of Jesus Christ. Early on, the Church also decided that Luke wrote the Acts of the Apostles that gives us a good account of the spread of the new Church. This means he was responsible for writing about a quarter of the New Testament. His work is one of only two Gospels that give us an account of the early life of Jesus, the other being Matthew's, and His Gospel is one of the three Synoptic Gospels (Mathew, Mark and Luke) that share some material and present a similar view. His emblem is an ox.

What do we know of Luke, and why is his work so special? Well in Colossians Paul mentions 'Luke, the beloved physician', so he is likely a Gentile convert, and his work is written for those outside Judaism. He gives us material not found elsewhere - the accounts of the birth of John the Baptist and of Jesus, including the journey to Bethlehem and the arrival of the shepherds. He has the presentation of the baby Jesus in the Temple, and his coming of age when he is 12 years old. But perhaps it is the parables that appear nowhere else that mean so much to us, like the Good Samaritan, the Prodigal Son, the lost coin, and the lost sheep. It's also Luke's interested in children and women, both of whom had little status at the time, that is interesting, notably in the raising of the widow's son at Nain, and the story of Martha and Mary.. It is worth reading his Gospel all the way through!

Heavenly Father,
we thank You for the work of St Luke,
for his carefully crafted account
of the life and death of Your son,
our Lord Jesus Christ,
and for the history of the
new Church as it spread
around the world.
Amen.