October 18, 2012

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Feast of Saint Luke, evangelist, read more

St. Luke, pray for us.

Lectionary: 661

Reading 1 from the 2nd letter of St. Paul to St. Timothy

 2 Tm 4:10-17b

Beloved:

Demas, enamored of the present world,

deserted me and went to Thessalonica,

St. Paul complains to St. Timothy that someone named Demas has abandoned him on his missionary journey.

Crescens to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia.

I'm not certain if he is also saying that St. Crescens and St. Titus have abandoned him.  Both of these men are now considered Saints.  But Demas is not.  Read more.

Apparently Demas departure was of a different nature than the other two.  Perhaps Demas is "Demetrius" the silversmith, who is mentioned in Acts 19:24.

Luke is the only one with me.

St. Luke however, the faithful physician, remained with him.

Get Mark and bring him with you,

for he is helpful to me in the ministry.

St. Mark, who is more well known for being St. Peter's secretary, apparently was also helpful to St. Paul.  Apparently, St. Paul's objection to St. Mark has now been forgotten.  Read about that here (Acts 15:37-39).

I have sent Tychicus to Ephesus.

When you come, bring the cloak I left with Carpus in Troas,

the papyrus rolls, and especially the parchments.

Wouldn't it be nice to have copies of those papyri and parchments today.  Maybe they included some of his lost epistles.

I guess the weather was getting cold, because St. Paul also wanted his cloak.

Alexander the coppersmith did me a great deal of harm;

the Lord will repay him according to his deeds.

You too be on guard against him,

for he has strongly resisted our preaching.

I'm assuming that this Alexander is the same one that is mentioned in Acts 19:33.  If you read that account, note the following.
1.  He is a Jew.
2.  He is a coppersmith.  I'm assuming that he is also the town clerk. (Acts 19:33-35).
3.  The ruckus in Acts 19 was instigated by the craftsmen (v24).  Those who made statues of metal.
4.  And although he protected them from the Greeks.
5.  He also confirmed the Greek religion and did nothing to lend any credence to Christianity.

Therefore, in order to protect his profits, Alexander, a Jew, rejected the Christian faith.  Perhaps, he and Demas (i.e. Demetrius) were part of the metalsmith conspiracy against St. Paul and the Christians.

At my first defense no one appeared on my behalf,

but everyone deserted me.

May it not be held against them!

If I am correct, the entire city was about to riot.  So, I don't know if I can blame anyone for putting their safety first.  Mobs are scary.  But poor St. Paul must have felt abandoned.

But the Lord stood by me and gave me strength,

so that through me the proclamation might be completed

and all the Gentiles might hear it.

But the Holy Spirit emboldened St. Paul that he might bring the Gospel message to the Gentiles.

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

R. (12) Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.
Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD,
and let your faithful ones bless you.
Let them discourse of the glory of your Kingdom
and speak of your might.
R. Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.
Making known to men your might
and the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.
Your Kingdom is a Kingdom for all ages,
and your dominion endures through all generations.
R. Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.
The LORD is just in all his ways
and holy in all his works.
The LORD is near to all who call upon him,
to all who call upon him in truth.
R. Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.

WE are the friends of God.  And we are called upon to evangelize by word and deed about the greatness and kindness of our Lord.

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Luke

 Lk 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.

Besides the Twelve, Jesus also selected a group of his students, 72 of them, to go ahead of Him and preach the Gospel.

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.

The harvest represents the people of the world.
The laborers represent the Preachers who will teach the Wisdom of God.

He says, "pray that God will inspire more people to follow your example and preach His wisdom to the world."

Go on your way;

behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves.

He says, "Go now, but be careful, because it is dangerous out there."  He is speaking both about physical and spiritual dangers.

Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals;

and greet no one along the way.

 He is sending them with no money, no sack and no shoes in order that they be completely reliant upon God for their needs.

And He doesn't want them to talk to anyone along the way in order that they keep focused on their mission.

Into whatever house you enter,

first say, 'Peace to this household.'

He instructs them to bless every house they enter.

If a peaceful person lives there,

your peace will rest on him;

If a righteous man lives there, the blessing will remain with him.

but if not, it will return to you.

If a righteous man does not live there, then the blessing will be rejected.

Stay in the same house and eat and drink what is offered to you,

for the laborer deserves payment.

Receive every blessing offered to them from those in the house they have entered.  That is part of their return for doing the work of the Lord.

Do not move about from one house to another.

Do not move from one house to another, that will cause confusion, envy and bickering.

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.'"

They are to announce the Kingdom of God in every town that accepts them.  And they are to confirm this by curing their sick.

Sincerely,

De Maria