The Lord is Near

Feast of Saint Luke,

the Evangelist

 

~~~ 2Timothy 4: 10-17b ~~~ Psalm 145 ~~~ Luke 10: 1-9 ~~~

 

Jesus sent them ahead of him in pairs.

Were they to prepare the way?

Were they to scope out the best places for him to stay?

Were they to warm up the crowd like an opening act?

 

Paul writes to Timothy about his hardships and how he has been

deserted by his so called friends.

But Paul is completely convicted to stand up for the Lord and his teachings.

Paul has complete faith that no matter how he is mistreated

he has the Lord beside him.

Sometimes I think we wonder if God really is on our side.

When things in our life turn out less than as planned

or fall short of what we had envisioned;

we question...

 

"...the Lord stood by me and gave me strength..."

 

We doubt if the Lord really is near by...

we are not confident that he hears our pleas.

We often want some sort of tangible reassurance.

This is when we must allow our faith to supersede all other thoughts.

 

"...The LORD is near to all who call upon him..."

 

God sent St. Luke to be one of St. Paul's most faithful companions.

Luke walked beside Paul. Luke experienced the Holy Spirit moving and working among those whom they addressed.

 

They went out two by two...extending the peace of the Lord to each

household along their journeys.

They were instructed to send greetings of peace.

 

"...If a peaceful person lives there,
your peace will rest on him;
but if not, it will return to you."

 

Jesus goes on to instruct these seventy-two disciples.

 Even though they were to bless with his peace it might not

always be received well.

They were not to be surprised or to judge, just to greet with his peace.

 

If you greet someone with peace and they are themselves at peace

then your peace will be well received.

Their soul is ripe to be able to receive more peace.

 

But on the other hand if the person is in a state of unrest and turmoil within,

your peace will be returned to you.

Even the peace of the Lord, a gift freely given, may not be accepted.

You may even get an sense of this rejection within your own heart.

You may be able to sense their hostility within their heart.

 

 

Today we too are being sent out to bring the gift of peace

to those along the way.

It is only possible for us to give peace

if we first have peace of our own.

 

If you are not nurturing your inner peace how can you

draw from it to pass on to others?

My peace I give you

my peace I leave you.

 

Saint Luke the Evangelist, pray for us.