Luke 10:1-9

2 Timothy 4:10-17b

Psalm 145:10-11, 12-13, 17-18

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.’”

Opening Prayer: Lord God, send me as a laborer into your harvest! Let me bring peace to those I encounter today. When I am united to you through your grace, I am a bearer of the Kingdom in this world. May your reign be extended by my actions, prayers, and words to many hearts today!

Encountering the Word of God

1. Luke’s Life and Writings: Luke was a close companion and collaborator of Paul. He was a medical doctor by profession (Colossians 4:14). He was a well-educated, culturally Greek (Hellenized) Jew from Antioch. He became a Christian missionary who joined up with Paul on his second missionary journey (Acts 16:10). Luke stayed in Philippi for a time to evangelize (Acts 16:12) but later sailed with Paul from Philippi to Troas and went with him to Jerusalem (Acts 20:6). Luke sailed with Paul to Rome (Acts 27:1) and stayed with Paul while Paul was imprisoned there (2 Timothy 4:11). Luke wrote his Gospel after those of Matthew and Mark for educated Greco-Romans as well as for Greek-speaking Jews from a variety of theological backgrounds. Luke wrote a second volume, known as the Acts of the Apostles, to complete his Gospel. In the Acts of the Apostles, he shows how the Holy Spirit’s work in the life of Jesus now operates in the living community of Christ’s mystical body, the Church (Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: New Testament, 99). Because the second volume doesn’t include important events such as the martyrdoms of the protagonists of the story, Peter and Paul, and doesn’t mention the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, the Gospel of Luke and Acts were likely written sometime between A.D. 62-67 (see Pitre, The Case for Jesus, 98-100). According to tradition, Luke was martyred and hanged from an olive tree in Thebes at the age of 84.

2. The Royal Son of David and Son of God according to Luke: In his Gospel, Luke shows how Jesus is the Davidic king, the royal Son of David, who journeys to Jerusalem, the city of David, as part of his mission to restore the kingdom of David (Hahn, “Christ, Kingdom, and Creation: Davidic Christology and Ecclesiology in Luke-Acts,” 122). Jesus is presented not only as the Son of David but as the Son of God. Jesus is the new Adam who originates a new humanity. What Jesus possesses as the royal Son of David, the Kingdom, is transmitted to his apostles at the Last Supper. In the Acts of the Apostles, Luke shows that “the apostles are commissioned by Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit to extend the kingdom they have received to ‘the ends of the earth’” (Hahn, “Christ, Kingdom, and Creation,” 138). The Church, as Luke sees it, unites both the restored Kingdom of David and the renewed creation: “God’s plan for Adam and creation, renewed with David and his kingdom, is thus fulfilled by Christ in the Church” (Hahn, “Christ, Kingdom, and Creation,” 138).

3. The Good News of Merciful Salvation according to Luke: What does Luke’s Gospel say that Jesus, the Son of David and Son of God, brings to humanity? In a word, Jesus brings God’s merciful salvation through the Church to all humanity! First, Luke shows how Jesus is the Savior of Israel, God’s Old Covenant people. The Gospel recounts how Jesus began the restoration of Israel and reunited the scattered tribes of Israel into his kingdom (Luke 1:33, 68; 22:28-30). Throughout his Gospel narrative, Luke is attentive to show how Jesus saves the Samaritans, who were the descendants of the northern Israelites. Second, Luke narrates how Jesus extended forgiveness and salvation to the Gentiles. The Gospel begins with Simeon calling Jesus a light for revelation to the Gentiles (Luke 2:32) and ends with Jesus telling the apostles that forgiveness must be carried from Jerusalem to all nations (Luke 24:47). Third, Luke focuses especially on the salvation of the lowly, the outcasts, the poor, and the disreputable. In Luke’s Gospel, the Lord is shown to have a special concern for the lowly and oppressed. Luke also gives women a prominent position in his Gospel, and they play leading roles in the story of Jesus despite their social status in the ancient world (Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: New Testament, 100).

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, you are my King. I belong to you and am a member of your royal, priestly, and prophetic family. I will strive to imitate the mercy of your heavenly Father and imitate your meekness and humility in all that I do today.

Living the Word of God: Am I willing to dedicate time today and this week to study and pray with the Gospels? Do I know each of the Four Gospels and how they individually present the mystery of Christ and his Church? How can I be a more effective witness of the Gospel message?