The Kingdom of God is at Hand for You."

Today's Mass Readings

In a week that we remember a number of important saints, today we honor St.
Luke the Evangelist. He is one of our earliest saints, and the first reading from 2 Timothy recognizes him as one of Paul’s companions – someone who was faithful to the gospel and committed to sharing it with others. Luke’s particular gift as someone wrote his gospel and Acts of the Apostles was his attention for detail. A physician by profession, Luke often demonstrates consideration for the little details, whether it be a description of one of Jesus’ healings or otherwise. For example, Luke is the only one who notes the events describing the annunciation and birth of Jesus. He takes the time to note the good thief at the crucifixion. The major themes in his gospel are prayer and joy.

Today’s gospel passage from Luke describes the sending forth of the disciples to preach the kingdom. He tells them to tell those they encounter, “The Kingdom of God is at hand for you” (Lk. 10:9). And this message is a prelude to Jesus’ own visit to each of these places. The urgency and the imagery of Jesus’ commissioning reflect the challenge posed by faithful discipleship – a challenge faced even by Christians today.

Sharing Jesus’ message, as did Luke and the other disciples, is no small feat. And yet Jesus says that the harvest is abundant and the laborers are few…this means that there are important opportunities for those who would take the time to spread the gospel. Christian life may at times be discouraging, the reward of fidelity to the gospel is the friendship it brings with Jesus himself. Hence the psalm response tells us, “Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.” Surely those who know of the glorious
splendor of God’s Kingdom cannot keep it to themselves! Instead it appears in living a life of love in witness to this gospel!

In prayer and with joy let us like Luke the Evangelist use our gifts to bring the good news to all around us! Let us prove our friendship with God by making God’s goodness known in our lives. It is possible that for some people, our lives is the only gospel they will ever read.