28th Week in Ordinary Time
18th October 2023 (Wednesday) Readings and Reflection
Psalter: Week 4
Reading of the Day
First Reading: 2 Timothy 4:10-17b
Beloved: Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. Luke alone is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry. Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus. When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, also the books, and above all the parchments. Alexander the coppersmith did me great harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds. Beware of him yourself, for he strongly opposed our message. At my first defence no one came to stand by me; but all deserted me. May it not be charged against them! But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it.
Psalm 145:10-11, 12-13ab, 17-18 (R. see 12ab)
R/. Your saints, O Lord, make known the glory of your reign.
Alleluia
V/. Alleluia R/. Alleluia
V/. I chose you from the world that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, says the Lord.
R/. Alleluia
Gospel : Luke 10:1-9
At that time: The Lord appointed seventy-two others, and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go. And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest. Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals; and greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house!’ And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you. And remain in the same house; eating and drinking what they provide, for the labourer deserves his wages. Do not go from house to house. Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you. Heal the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’”
Daily Gospel Reflection
Highlight: Holistic Witness!
Guidlines: The Christian life is a constant call to bear witness in word and deed{alertSuccess}
1. Today we celebrate the feast of St Luke. As we know, he is one of the four evangelists who authored Luke’s gospel and Acts of the Apostles. He was a companion to Paul on some missionary journey. He receives his knowledge of Jesus and imbibes his spirit from Paul. His gospel is not a mere story of Jesus about what he said and did. Rather it is a journey into the very person of Jesus and oriented to the destiny of heaven.
2. Through numerous parables, Jesus is presented as the Lord of compassion, mercy, and forgiveness. His gospel is known to be a gospel of the poor, of the Holy Spirit, of mercy and joy. These are not merely some dominant themes for knowledge but are indicators of God’s own nature. In them, we see what God is to us, how He is benevolently turned toward us, and how He intervenes in our lives. Thus, they are also directions for a profound experience.
3. Further, they are also invitations and inspirations to dispose ourselves to God’s action. Thus, from our part, we are called “to be poor”, “to be open to and led by the Holy Spirit”, to repent and be converted to receive His mercy and forgiveness and to experience God’s own joy.
4. This is how these themes become very strong and convincing. Another overwhelming theme is that God is the physician and the healer to cure wounded hearts. It is not this or that miracle of healing from different ailments. It is the fundamental healing from the infection of sin. It is a rediscovery and recapturing of the lost grace.
5. St Luke experienced this abundance of grace and he bore witness to it through his mission and writing. His feast should be a summon for us to be witnesses to the Lord in word and deed.
Practice: God’s love which is merciful and forgiving, heals us and fills us with the Holy Spirit and the end result is a joyful witness{alertSuccess}