Requiring a fearless choice

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

October 18, 2019: Remembering the Evangelist St. Luke

2 Timothy 4: 10-17; Luke 10: 1-9

Luke alone is with me...writes Paul. We are given to understand that Luke, although he was not part of the apostles' band, he was very closely associated with them and eventually grows up into an evangelist!

One salient feature that is often pointed out about St. Luke's gospel is the contrasting images that he uses in his narration...the beatitudes and the woes, Martha and Mary, the prodigal and his brother, the rich man and Lazarus, the good thief and the bad thief... these are all typical to Luke, in comparison to the other Gospel narratives! 

The message is obvious: he challenges his readers towards absolute choices - for or against the Lord; with or away from the Lord! A value that he seems to have lived in his own life - an instance is that he chose to remain with Paul in his difficult ministry! The radical choices that a disciple had to make according to Jesus in the Gospel today, were very clear for Luke and he made those choices his own! 

Christian Discipleship requires these absolute choices that we have to make for the Lord and for the Lord's people! Being an apostle or an evangelist, is only a step that follows! Without the former, the latter is phony. The memory of St.Luke invites us to make an absolute choice for God: on a daily basis, at work and at home, on the streets or in a public transport; in company or alone - we are what we choose to be! 

Let us fearlessly choose to belong to the Lord, always!