Saint Luke, Pray for Us!

~~~ Saint Luke, Evangelist ~~~

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

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.

It believed that Saint Luke is the author of the Acts of the Apostles.
Luke was born a Greek and a Gentile.
His writings reflect sensitivity to evangelizing Gentiles.
Luke was close friends with Saint Paul.
Even though Luke was a physician he traveled with his pen and paper.
He was a traveling writer. His writings, like the Good Samaritan,
feature the goodness and compassion of those 'lowly' non Jews.

Luke desired to write an orderly account of what has been fulfilled...
 which was handed down by those who were with Jesus.

Luke supported Paul in determination to spread the message to all of the Gentiles.

Luke's Gospel is focused on the women in the life of Jesus.
He also writes about the poor and of social justice.

The Gospel of Saint Luke gives us six miracles and eighteen parables
not found in the other three gospels.

We have Saint Luke to thank for the beautiful accounting
of the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Presentation
and the Prodigal Son.

Jesus sent out his disciples in pairs ahead of him
 to every town and place he intended to visit.

They went ahead to prime the people.
They went ahead to prepare the way for Jesus.
They were like living billboards.

They went out with one agenda; peace.
Into whatever house you enter,
first say, ‘Peace to this household.’

They were not sent to judge or to choose
who would be granted this peace.

They came to make the offer of peace; if it was well
received great if not they moved on.

Whatever peace they extended to those they met
 along the way came back to them.
There was always more to give.

If there is one thing I have learned from Saint Luke is not only
to tell the story, but to live the story every day of my life.

It is up to each one of us to live the peace of Christ.
It is up to each one of us the care for the poor.
It is up to each one of us to advocate justice for all.

‘The Kingdom of God is at hand for you.’

It is as close as your heart.
You and I make it visible to others.
Blessed through the writings of Saint Luke.
May his writings continue to enrich our lives
 and encourage us in living our faith.

~~~Peace~~~

Rejected at Home

~~~ 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 ~~~ Psalm 119 ~~~ Luke 4:16-30 ~~~

They rose up, drove him out of the town...

Jesus came home, went to synagogue as was the custom,

 read from the Isaiah scroll, amazed and infuriated 

the elders so much they were enraged.

They were so angry that he would dare put himself in a category

 with the great prophet Elijah that they tried to push 

him off the edge of the cliff.

Clearly they were not ready to hear him publicly 

identify with the words he read.

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

because he has anointed me...

Imagine putting yourself in the synagogue hearing

this young local boy making such claims before the whole assembly.

I might have also had reservations.

I remember when I returned home after a year away at college;

I really thought I knew so much.

I wanted to share my new found knowledge, 

but there was resistance.

No, my family did not run me out of the house

 or think of pushing me down the stairs, but there was resistance.

Jesus met with resistance from the very beginning, 

but he did not let that stop him.

Jesus had the wisdom given to him from God. Jesus knew 

the prophet Isaiah was speaking of him.

The 'anointed one' was in the midst and they rejected him 

as someone who was speaking out of line.

They never even heard the rest of the prophecy concerning the poor.

...to bring glad tidings to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives

and recovery of sight to the blind,

to let the oppressed go free,

and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.

In effect Jesus is saying to the men of Nazareth, 

you missed your chance for to see the workings of God among you.

It takes the wisdom of the Spirit before we can learn to 

care about the poor, the captives, the blind, and the oppressed.

Even then it is not so easy or convenient to take action.

We live in a world where taking action can put one in great danger.

We live in a world that has forgotten who put us here.

We live in a world where most think they deserve everything.

We have forgotten.

We are the poor.

We are the captives.

We are the blind.

We are the oppressed.

We are poor because we are not rich in the spirit of God.

We are captives of our own desires to the 

exclusion of God's plan for us.

We are the blind because we do not see all 

that is possible for us to become.

We are the oppressed because we live surrounded in fear.

Jesus may have fled his hometown 

but his message of love kept them thinking.

The elders did not like what they heard from Jesus.

I can imagine many days later they were still sitting

 around discussing what had happened.

What about us?

We must pray for greater wisdom from the Holy Spirit.

It will then be possible for us to have abundance, 

freedom, restored vision, and to be released. 

May we be Blessed with true wisdom

that can only come from the Holy Spirit.

~~~Peace~~~

"...Let Me Sow Love"

~~~ Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi ~~~

"Preach the gospel at all times and when necessary use words."

 

~~~ Job 19: 21-27 ~~~ Psalm 27 ~~~ Luke 10: 1-12 ~~~

 

St. Francis forfeited his rightful inheritance to embrace the poverty of God.

The result was abundance from God beyond his imagination.

St. Francis is also known for his love of animals and nature.

He is often depicted surrounded by birds and other animals.

 

"Lord make me an instrument of your peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love"

 

He continues to be one of the most popular saints.

In our world today it is fitting that we be reminded of our role

to be models of peace.

The unconditional love and care that we extend to our beloved pets

is also what we should radiate to our brothers and sisters.

 

"...Oh, would that my words were written down!
Would that they were inscribed in a record:
That with an iron chisel and with lead
they were cut in the rock forever!"

 

Francis like Job responded to God's call to follow him.

Both men recognized God at work in their lives.

Both men were consumed with longing for God.

Francis found God in ministering to the poor.

Francis found God in all of creation.

 

I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord

in the land of the living.

 

St. Francis was able to incorporate this psalm into his inner most being.

He was truly able to see goodness all around him

'in the land of the living'.

 

 

 

What if heaven is filled with only what you noticed

and appreciated in nature?

What if heaven is all of creation worshiping and

offering praise to God forever?

What if our blessings were given to us in proportion

to the poorest little one we ministered too?

 

Let all creatures great and small give praise to God.

 

"Let everything that lives and breathes give praise to the Lord."

Psalm 150:6

 

Recognizing all of the goodness of creation is also praising God

for his goodness toward us.

Even that which we create in our lives

 is a manifestation of that same goodness.

 

I am inspired, as always, by Paul's words as he writes

to his friend Timothy...

"...Everything created by God is good,

and nothing is to be rejected when received with thanksgiving,

for it is made holy by the invocation of God in prayer."

1 Tim 4:4-5

 

St. Francis, teach us to see the goodness of God in all of creation.

St. Francis of Assisi, pray for us.

Give your pets some special TLC today recognizing

their Creator is the same Creator who made you.

Prosper the Work of Our Hands

Memorial of Saint Vincent de Paul

 

~~~ Ecclesiastes 1: 2-11 ~~~ Psalm 90 ~~~ Luke 9:7-9 ~~~

Vincent de Paul is best known for his ministry to the poor.

He traveled to the countryside giving missions to the poor, that is the slaves.

Vincent himself had been subjected to the bonds of slavery at one time himself.

 

Today many parishes serve the needy through their St. Vincent de Paul Society.

He was renowned for his compassion, humility, and generosity.

 

"...What has been, that will be;
what has been done, that will be done.
Nothing is new under the sun."

 

Nothing is new under the sun...we still have those less fortunate among us today.

The poor have been and always will be a part of our society.

Vincent left his example of care for the poor.

He did not view them as less.

He did not view them as mere objects to be tossed aside and ignored.

Instead he reached out to them, he recognized that they were also

created in the image and likeness of God.

He understood that we are called to love the lowly.

 

The lowly are not to be forgotten hidden away from our eyes.

 

Psalm 90 makes it very clear that no matter who we are we will return to dust.

Rich or poor in the end does not matter.

God alone sees our true value.

 

Teach us Lord to number our days as we may grow in wisdom.

 

"...Fill us at daybreak with your kindness,
that we may shout for joy and gladness all our days.
Prosper the work of our hands for us!
Prosper the work of our hands!"

 

We ask God to bless those who minister to the poor.

We ask God to provide abundance for those in need.

We ask God's guidance in helping us to give freely

without prejudice to those in need.

 

We thank God for giving us our daily bread.

We thank God for his providential care of the needy,

but also for our own care.

 

 

Sometimes those most in need of our compassion

do not fit our image of 'poor'.

 

We intercede today for those who are...

physically poor...

emotionally poor...

and spiritually poor.

We especially pray for the forgotten ones who have no one

ministering to their needs.

 

Fill the hearts of the poor with joy and gladness

as we minister to them.

Allow them to see Christ through those who serve them.

 

"...Prosper the work of our hands for us!
Prosper the work of our hands!"

 

St. Vincent de Paul, pray for us.

Justice for the Poor

~~~ Micah 2:1-5 ~~~ Psalm 10 ~~~ Matthew 12: 14-21 ~~~

Micah was a minor prophet during the reigns of Ahaz and Hezekiah,

whom you may recognize from recent OT readings.

Micah's writings speak of justice, love, care and concern for the poor.

It is believed that Micah greatly influenced Hezekiah's reforms.

Micah boldly attacked those who would exploit the poor.

Today's reading we see strong words against those in power.

"...Therefore thus says the LORD:
Behold, I am planning against this race an evil
from which you shall not withdraw your necks;
Nor shall you walk with head high,
for it will be a time of evil."

Micah is giving fair warning...what you are plotting is not going

unnoticed by God.
Each prophecy of judgment by God also includes his

promise of love and mercy.

If you read more from the book of Micah you may wonder

if it was really written centuries ago.

Micah 6: 8 gives us the beautiful words included in the hymn

We Are Called

"...You have been told, O man, what is good,

and what the Lord requires of you:

Only to do right and to love goodness,

and to walk humbly with God."

I invite you to spend some time in the book of Micah.

He was a contemporary of the prophet Isaiah even though we do not

hear his words proclaimed very often.

The psalm continues to focus our attention on the poor.

Do not forget the poor, O Lord!

"...You do see, for you behold misery and sorrow,
taking them in your hands.
On you the unfortunate man depends;
of the fatherless you are the helper."

Do not forget the poor, O Lord!

This psalm is reaching out to the poor assuring them that they

have the attention of our compassionate God.

In spite of all the good Jesus spread on his travels from town to town;

 those in power were devising a plan to oppress him.

Jesus was being forced into the same position as the poor.

He had to flee and act in hiding many times until the time

came for him to fulfill the prophecies of Isaiah...

"Behold, my servant whom I have chosen,
my beloved in whom I delight;
I shall place my Spirit upon him,
and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles.
He will not contend or cry out,
nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets.
A bruised reed he will not break,
a smoldering wick he will not quench,
until he brings justice to victory.
And in his name the Gentiles will hope."

The prophet sums up the passion of Jesus here in these few lines of text.

The last line 'and in his name the Gentiles will hope'

is a message for us today.

We are the 'Gentiles' and we do place our hope in Jesus.

No matter how low you may be feeling...

like a bruised reed or a smoldering wick

Jesus wants you to place your hope in him.

He alone can make all things right.

He alone has the final judgment call of justice.

We are called to walk humbly with God.

Take Off Your Sunglasses

 ~~~ Isaiah 58:1-9a ~~~ Psalm 51 ~~~ Matthew 9: 14-15 ~~~

Have you ever noticed that whenever a person does not want to be recognized the first thing they put on is sunglasses. Celebrities are often seen being hurriedly whisked away into their waiting limo wearing sunglasses. The darkness of the tinted lens, while providing protection from harmful UV light, also hides your eyes. Eyes hidden behind these lens cannot be seen by others.

I believe your eyes are the windows into your soul, as some writers have previously stated. If your eyes are shielded from the sight of others what could that imply?

I would offer a connection between sunglasses and the words from the Isaiah reading today.

Those fasting with heads downcast covered in ashes wearing their penitential sackcloth are in fact wearing sunglasses. Their view of their world is dark, introverted and self centered. They are only looking down seeing nothing but the dirt and mud in their path. They do not look out. They do not see others. They do not make any attempt at eye contact. Eye contact at this point might be uncomfortable.

I personally dislike talking with someone wearing sunglasses precisely because I cannot see their eyes. Our eyes are so very expressive. You can tell if a person is joyful or sad by looking into their eyes. Some time ago I created a YouTube video titled Eye Gazing. It is simply suggesting that you spend time gazing into the eyes of Jesus. Meditating on his loving gaze can bring deep peace to your soul.

Today Isaiah is saying hey guys take off those dark glasses. Open your eyes. Look up and you will see what really matters to God. "What is the purpose having your eyes fixed on the ground?" asks, Jesus. Therefore, if what you are doing is ineffective I am not even going to acknowledge your actions.  

Jesus enters the scene saying, 'take off the sunglasses' and you will be able to see what I see. If you take off those dark glasses you will see those who are in most need of your attention. You know the ones you try to ignore by bowing down looking at the dirt and shading your eyes.

Look around and you will see those whom God cares most about...the oppressed, the hungry, the poor, naked, and the homeless to name a few. When you look up at these faces and into these eyes, my friends, find compassion in your heart. Take action on their behalf. Get up from your introverted ash covered penitential pieties and do something for those in need. Do something to help your brothers and sisters who are  suffering. There are opportunities all around if you but open your eyes and look.

When you reach out to those less fortunate you come to realize how blessed you are. You come to understand that hiding behind your sunglasses is not all that pleasing to God.

The Lord says, if you help those in need; when you call on me to come to your aid I will say, "Here I am!

You may find it surprising, but helping the less fortunate in our community does have a gold lining.

In the act of reaching out to help another your own burdens are lifted.

God will say to you, "Here I am1"

 So during this Lent I invite you to take off your sunglasses...

see where you can help another person in need.

 Join the psalmist...Let your sacrifice be a contrite and humble heart.