with it or with him?
"I have no one with me but Luke." —2 Timothy 4:11
Luke was a disciple of Paul, a missionary, one of the four evangelists, the author of Acts of the Apostles, and a doctor (Col 4:14). On Luke's feast day, however, the Church has not chosen readings to emphasize any of these claims to fame. Our first reading simply notes that Luke was with Paul. That doesn't sound like much until we remember Jesus' last words in Matthew's Gospel: "Know that I am with you always, until the end of the world!" (Mt 28:20) The Lord has not left us orphaned (Jn 14:18). He is always with us, and wants us always with Him and with each other. We need to be like those few people who were with Jesus before His death, even at the foot of the cross (Jn 19:25). We should visit and be with strangers, the sick, and the imprisoned (Mt 25:35-36). In this way, we will be with Jesus. We need to eat with and be with "beggars and the crippled, the lame and the blind" (Lk 14:13). We are called to be with our Christian brothers and sisters in community so as to be one with them as Jesus and the Father are one (Jn 17:21).
The question is not: "Are we with it?" but "Are we with Him and them?" Get with Him. Get with His people.
Prayer: Father, through, with, and in Jesus, all glory and honor are Yours!
Promise: "The Lord appointed a further seventy-two and sent them in pairs before Him to every town and place He intended to visit. He said to them: 'The harvest is rich but the workers are few; therefore ask the Harvest-Master to send workers to His harvest.' " —Lk 10:1-2
Praise: Luke would not have known true healing had he not learned of Jesus, the Healer and the Savior.
Nihil Obstat: Reverend Robert L. Hagedorn, March 22, 1997
Imprimatur: †Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, March 26, 1997