St. Luke the Evangelist (Feast), year A
2 Tim. 4:10-17ab Luke 10:1-9
Theme: A faithful disciple
Today the church celebrates the feast of St. Luke the Evangelist, a faithful companion of St. Paul in his missionary journey. He was a well-educated man, a doctor and the author of the Acts of the Apostles and St. Luke’s Gospel. He was humble and used his intelligence for the greater glory of God. In the 1st reading of today, his availability comes out very clearly from the writing of St. Paul in his 2nd letter to Timothy. While the other companions of St. Paul deserted him, Luke remained with him, as a faithful companion.
We have a lot to learn from the saint whose feast we celebrate today. Even with his education and intelligence, he was very humble and willing to continue the spread of the gospel; even when others deserted Paul, he remained with him. His faithfulness and quality of discipleship is worthy of emulation. In view of this, it will be wonderful if we can spend some time to reflect on how faithful a disciple we are and the quality of our discipleship. If the quality of our discipleship were to be a commodity, will people be willing to buy it? The answer to this question will determine whether we are like St. Luke or the other companions of St. Paul who deserted him.
However, we are all encouraged to be faithful and loyal disciples of Christ, no matter the difficulties we may encounter on our journey of faith. Just know that it is not going to be an easy journey, just like in the case of Jesus and his faithful followers but be strengthened with the fact that you are not alone, God is always with you. Nothing good comes easy, there will always be a Good Friday before Easter Sunday. Be mindful of this fact and always trust in God.
In the gospel reading of today, Jesus tells us that the harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few, pray for the Lord of Harvest to send more labourers. In this request made by Jesus to all of us, prayer is very important. So that the labourers will be faithful disciples like St. Luke the Evangelist and bear good fruits that will be enduring. May the Lord bless his words in our hearts in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit. Amen. Peace be with you.