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.'"
REFLECTION
"The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.
A young Greek physician, Luke, grew up in Antioch of Syria in the first century. In Antioch, Greek traditions blended with Eastern customs. Antioch was the third largest city of the Roman Empire. He studied medicine at the renowned city of Tarsus, the same city where the apostle Paul was born. He studied the writings of Hippocrates, was taught careful observations and details on symptoms and treatments. He had an extraordinary ability to document information. He practiced medicine in the various regions of the Roman Empire. He had a deep compassion to the suffering, the marginalized and for his patients.
In his travels he began learning about the Hebrew Scriptures and the monotheistic concept. He sought to find out the meaning of life and the nature of human existence. St Luke met St Paul in the city of Troas in 51 AD. It is in Acts 16:10 that St Luke starts referring to the travelers with St Paul as “we”. This most likely was when he joined Paul.
He was the man chosen to document the most extraordinary events of human history. He left behind his medical career to follow and write about events that took place before his time. He had the curiosity of an investigator, travelled far to interview eye witnesses and wrote meticulous notes.
Remarkable was his encounter with Mary, the Mother of Jesus. The intimate details of the Annunciation, the Magnificat, the Visitation, the Birth of Jesus, encounter with Simeon, finding of Jesus at the Temple, the early years of Jesus were memories shared by Mary with Luke. He alone tells the parable of Lazarus and the rich man, the Pharisee and the tax collector, the Good Samaritan, the Prodigal Son. He includes in his writings the Magnificat, the Benedictus, the Gloria in Excelsis sung by the angels.
St Luke was one of the four evangelists but not one of the twelve apostles who walked step by step with Jesus as he journeyed through Palestine. He wrote the Acts of the Apostles (over a quarter of the New Testament) and the third Gospel written in Greek as he wrote for a non Jewish crowd. His readers could not read Hebrew and Aramaic. The cultures of the non Jews were different and so he wrote according to their ability to understand.
The Acts of the Apostles is a diary of the early church and it is told from the first person perspective with the use of “we”. He writes and gives us knowledge of Pentecost and the Holy Spirit. He was the only one who remained with St Paul, who was abandoned by all coworkers when he was imprisoned.
As a physician, he wrote meticulous notes, describing illnesses (such as the mother in law of St Peter) and most likely bandaged and took care of St Paul after his many beatings. St Luke captured the words and kept alive the Word of God. He made the events of the life of Christ present today after so many centuries. St Luke made Him knowable and lovable.
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