ADVENT 2021
The Gospel of Luke: The Gift of This Year’s Liturgical Journey
Luke, like the other three Gospels, is not a biography of Jesus. It is a gathering of information based on a vision of faith in the truth of Jesus as the crucified and risen Savior. It is an opportunity for all people of faith to have a saving encounter with Jesus just as the disciples experienced. This new Liturgical Year, beginning in Advent, 2021, we are invited to journey with Luke in our weekly celebration of God’s love in the Pascal Mystery.
Jesus is an invitation into the Mystery of God. In the last verse of the Gospel of John we read: “There was much else that Jesus did. If it were written down in detail I do not suppose the world itself would hold all the books that would be written.” (Jn 21:25)
Luke, then, has chosen a truly limited amount of material. He has organized it in a specific way to help the reader to connect with Jesus in a saving and lifegiving rendezvous. Luke shares great similarities with Mark and Matthew. This makes them united under the title of the Synoptic Gospels. Luke also has much that is different thus helping us to have broader and deeper knowledge of Jesus.
Like his fellow evangelists, Luke invites us be participants in the Jesus story. We need to see ourselves as recipients of the healing. We, like Peter and the others, need to accept the call to journey to Jerusalem. Behind all the scenes of the Lukan stories lies the reality of Jesus in our life calling us into the kingdom of God’s peace, justice and never-ending love. One of Luke’s special gifts is his skill to draw us into the extravagance of God’s love.
One of Luke’s many special talents is his gift of storytelling. The story of the rich fool, Lazarus and Dives, the good Samaritan and the Prodigal Son are all rich stories peculiar to Luke.
Dante has described Luke as giving us the winning attitude of gentleness in Jesus. Throughout the Gospel there are special stories of compassion and mercy. Jesus is shown as reaching out to the isolated and abandoned. Yet, the evangelist is consistently harsh on the self-righteous and proud. The poor are promised help while the rich are challenged to expand their horizons to include those in need. Their judgement is not final until the extended period of mercy comes to an end.
Some have said one can dine one’s way through Luke because of the prominence of frequent meals for Jesus. Likewise, Luke has given prayer a special place of recognition in Jesus’ journey. Luke also is the only Synoptic author that gives special significance to the role of the Holy Spirit. Only Paul is equal in this regard in the New Testament. A few other characteristics of Luke are that he plays down the Markan criticism of the disciples. He is forceful on the need for detachment from riches. Jesus’ love for sinners and his consistent call for repentance are also highlights in this Gospel. All this, and so much more, make Luke’s version of the Gospel a warm and human presentation of Jesus. This rich Gospel version awaits our weekly commitment to Word and Sacrament on our journey with Jesus.
