October 18th: Feast of Saint Luke, evangelist
«The Kingdom of God is at hand for you»
Fr. Lluc TORCAL Monk of Santa Maria de Poblet (Santa Maria de Poblet, Tarragona, Spain)
Today, in St. Luke's feast —the Evangelist of Christ's gentleness and meekness— the Church proclaims this Gospel where the main traits Christ's apostles must have, are established.
In the first place, the apostles have been directly called by the Lord, and mandated by him, to go out on his behalf: it is Jesus himself who calls whom He wants to entrust with a concrete mission! “The Lord Jesus appointed seventy-two disciples whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit” (Lk 10:1).
And, because the apostle has been delegated by the Lord, he is, on top of everything, entirely dependent upon him. “Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals; and greet no one along the way” (Lk 10:4). Jesus' prohibition to his disciples mostly implies they must completely rely on their Lord Jesus, abandoning themselves to him, up to the point of leaving in his hands whatever is most essential for their lives: the Lord, who takes care of the iris flowers in the prairie and feeds the little birds, wants his disciples to look, in the first place, for the Kingdom of Heaven and, instead, “do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not worry anymore. All the nations of the world seek for these things, and your Father knows that you need them” (Lk 12:29-30).
The apostles are still who prepare the path for their Lord, by announcing his peace and healing the sick, thus, evidencing the coming of his Kingdom. The apostle's task is, therefore, of paramount importance in and for the life of the Church, because the future welcome of the Master amongst men will depend upon it.
The best testimony of the feast of an Evangelist —who has narrated the announcement of the Good News—, is to make us think of the apostolic and evangelizing dimension of our Christian life.