Today as we celebrate the feast day of St Luke, let us ask ourselves what does it mean to be an evangelist as we are called to be.
Many think that it is a title that belong to an elite few worthy enough to earn it. Guess what they are not entirely wrong. We are the elite few, for we are Christians!
For me the answer to what an evangelist is, can be found at the last line of today’s Gospel. “The kingdom of God is very near to you.”’ That is we are called to bring healing, to bring Heaven down on earth. To demonstrate that the Gospel is alive! Our living Lord and God is amongst us and it is through Him that we have life to the full! Is that not the Good News? The best news ever! Praise the Lord that we have every opportunity to share it.
Here I am Lord, Your evangelist! Amen
Saint Luke, pray for us…
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First reading
2 Timothy 4:10-17 ·
Only Luke is with me
Demas has deserted me for love of this life and gone to Thessalonika, Crescens has gone to Galatia and Titus to Dalmatia; only Luke is with me. Get Mark to come and bring him with you; I find him a useful helper in my work. I have sent Tychicus to Ephesus. When you come, bring the cloak I left with Carpus in Troas, and the scrolls, especially the parchment ones. Alexander the coppersmith has done me a lot of harm; the Lord will repay him for what he has done. Be on your guard against him yourself, because he has been bitterly contesting everything that we say.
The first time I had to present my defence, there was not a single witness to support me. Every one of them deserted me – may they not be held accountable for it. But the Lord stood by me and gave me power, so that through me the whole message might be proclaimed for all the pagans to hear.
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Gospel
Luke 10:1-9
Your peace will rest on that man
The Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them out ahead of him, in pairs, to all the towns and places he himself was to visit. He said to them, ‘The harvest is rich but the labourers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send labourers to his harvest. Start off now, but remember, I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Carry no purse, no haversack, no sandals. Salute no one on the road. Whatever house you go into, let your first words be, “Peace to this house!” And if a man of peace lives there, your peace will go and rest on him; if not, it will come back to you. Stay in the same house, taking what food and drink they have to offer, for the labourer deserves his wages; do not move from house to house. Whenever you go into a town where they make you welcome, eat what is set before you. Cure those in it who are sick, and say, “The kingdom of God is very near to you.”’
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