Saints are us!

Reflection on Lk. 10:1-9

Feast of St. Luke

We honor today St. Luke, the Evangelist. He wrote one of the four known Gospels of Jesus Christ. He was also known as the man behind the book of the Acts of the Apostles. His symbol was the calf or the ox, the sacrificial animal, because he opened his Gospel with the story of Zachary and his son, John the Baptist. He was considered as an excellent writer because of his good command of the Hebraic and Greek languages and adeptness of their cultures.

His Gospel is very similar to Matthew in that they both focused on the "anawims" of society. The less fortunate widows, beggars, prisoners,and the sick found a defendant in St. Luke and his community. He was inspired to write the Good News for these people who had captured the attention of God. The sending of the apostles in the Gospel reading today reminds us of our task as Christians. As Christians, we are being sent to bring the Good News of salvation to the needy. In the Beatitudes, Jesus clarified that blessedness does not consist in one's status but how and why that status is lived! Being rich, happy, or free do not necessarily mean blessedness. In the same way, being sad, poor, or enslaved do not necessarily mean being cursed. When the above are lived in faith and because of God, then one is blessed. When the above are lived against the very Will of God, then one is cursed. These are some of the messages why a Christian is being sent. Other important Christian teachings are forgiveness, peace, love, justice, and hope. Luke, a Christian, wrote all of these in his account of the Gospel.

The proclamation of the Gospel is also characterized by urgency. Jesus stressed that those who are sent should act with alacrity and concern. In fact, if there are people who would not readily accept the Good News, do not waste time with them. Rather, the one sent should go to the next person or community. In this case, more people will be given the opportunity to hear, understand, and live the Good News of salvation.

The apostles, the prophets, the Gospel writer, and the priest are not the only one's sent. Every Christian, by virtue of their Baptism, has that responsibility to proclaim the Gospel. The best way is to live those messages. The apostles had given us an example that we must imitate. This is the main reason why we remember them and celebrate their feasts. The mass Preface for Holy men and Women states, "You are glorified in your saints, for their glory is the crowning of your gifts. In their lives on earth You give us an example." Praising them for what they did is secondary. The lives lived by saints like St. Luke are being given emphasis because they had not really left us like the Lord, but are continually guiding us from heaven, " Through the apostles You watch over us and protect us always. You made them shepherds of the flock to share in the work of Your Son, and from their place in heaven they guide us still.", says the priest in the Preface for the Apostles. What they had achieved, we are also expected to achieve. What they had achieved, we can also achieve in our own way. God made holy men and women from the beginning. Sin just entered and embraced by them. But God gives us the grace to recover our original blessing. The holy men and women also went through that same route. Sin can be defeated. Holiness can be recovered. Thanks for saints like Luke. We can be like them too!