Saint Luke, Evangelist (Feast)

Say to them, “The Kingdom of God is at hand for you.”

Who were the seventy-two disciples whom Jesus sent ahead of him to every town and place he planned to visit? Of the four Gospel writers, only St. Luke, whose feast we celebrate today, mentions this mission (10:1-9). Perhaps among these disciples were the very people whom Luke wrote about in his Gospel, the ones whose lives had been radically transformed by the Lord.

Maybe one of the pairs sent out were two men, one miraculously healed of leprosy and the other of paralysis (Luke 5:12-26). We can guess what they, in their gratitude, would have said about Jesus to any villager who would listen to them. What about the testimony of the sinful woman who was forgiven much (7:36-50)? And the widow from Nain and her only son who had been raised from his coffin (7:11-17)—what a witness they had to share about the nearness of the kingdom of God!

Before sending them out, Jesus told his disciples to pray for more laborers for the harvest (Luke 10:2). St. Luke himself heard this call and devoted his life to spreading the good news. He traveled with St. Paul on his missionary journeys, where he encountered numerous dangers and difficulties. When he returned from his travels, he continued to share the good news by compiling both his Gospel and the Book of Acts. How many people throughout the centuries have been touched by his inspired words!

What is your story? What has Jesus done for you, and what have you seen him do for others? You don’t have to share it with a whole town; just start with one person. You don’t need extensive training, either. All you need are your gratitude and humility as you recall your experience.

Today, imagine one of the characters in Luke’s Gospel walking into a Galilean village, standing in front of the synagogue, and sharing how Jesus had changed their life. Let their example give you the courage to follow in their footsteps. Know that St. Luke and these seventy-two believers are rooting for you to step out in faith and tell your own “Jesus story”!

“St. Luke, pray for me as I share my story of how Jesus has touched my life.”

2 Timothy 4:10-17
Psalm 145:10-13, 17-18
Luke 10:1-9