In this church year, we read from St. Luke’s gospel each Sunday and I want to extend an invitation to you today to explore this gospel in a little more detail. Two years ago 250,000 copies of the Gospel of Luke were distributed across all the parishes in the diocese and we still have hundreds of copies of this Gospel to be distributed over this weekend. Why the focus on Luke’s Gospel this year? There is a lot of talk these days about renewal in the Church in Ireland and it is important to remember that this renewal involves being true to the heart of Jesus’ message. How do we know what that message is? Jesus’ message has been preserved for us in the gospels and therefore we need to explore the Gospel. Archbishop Diarmuid Martin is always asking people whenever he gives a talk anywhere: “Do you really know Jesus?” And it is a good question to ask. We can get to know the person of Jesus through spending time with the gospel texts. So, if we are serious about renewal in our Church, we need to go back to the source of the message.
We might have many questions about the Bible and the gospels within it which we would like to ask but may not have had the opportunity before. For example, who was Luke, where did he get his information? It is thought that Luke wrote his gospel around 80 AD, more than 40 years after Jesus’ death. This fact alone brings questions for us. We may also want to ask, why are there differences in the gospels? Why were some gospels not included in the Bible? People get very excited about all of these questions and the various theories that are out there hoping that they can teach us something new about our faith.
Luke was a skilled writer and it is likely that he came from Syria. He is said to have accompanied St. Paul for some time on his missionary journeys around the Christian communities in the Mediterranean. Luke’s Gospel is one that focuses on the journey of Jesus to Jerusalem, the lives he touched along the way, the prayer life of Jesus and the action of the Holy Spirit. In Luke, there is an emphasis on seeing people, Jesus sees people who have been pushed aside, Jesus sees the marginalised, women, the sick, the outcast, people whom nobody else sees. It is from Luke that we received the great parables such as the Prodigal Son and the Good Samaritan. Luke also emphasises the role of women in Jesus’ ministry more than any other gospel, especially the role of Mary, the Mother of Jesus. Mary is the first disciple. It is from Luke that we get prayers such as the Magnificat and Hail Mary. Luke is concerned with a reversal of fortune between those who have and who have not, between religious hierarchy and God on the streets, a gospel cantered on justice and equality.
So I invite you to look at ways that we can understand more about this gospel text and ways we can pray with the gospel. Can this be one of your Lenten promises – to read St. Luke’s Gospel? And for those of you who fancy doing a bit more than that I invite you to join us on Wednesday night at 7.30pm in the Parish Centre (starting on February 20th) where we will begin to break open this text.
Our Ministers of the Word will distribute these Gospels after mass, please take one home with you, please take one for family or friends if you wish. The season of Lent is a transforming season. We want to arrive at Easter, a little bit changed, a little bit more nourished, a little bit closer to understanding what is at the heart of Jesus’ message for us. Spread the Word.
