+ In Revelation 4:6, four beasts give endless praise before the throne of God: a man, an ox,
a lion, and an eagle. Tradition hold that these signify the four Evangelists.
Luke is the ox, the symbol of strength and sacrifice.
His Gospel opens with the priest Zechariah who “was chosen by lot to
enter the sanctuary of the Lord to burn incense” (1-9). In the Temple,
Zechariah encounters the angel Gabriel, who heralds the birth of his son, John
the Baptist. Gabriel goes next to Mary to tell her that she will conceive and
bear “the Son of the Most High” (1:32).
A tradition dating to the 6th century makes Luke the first
artist to have painted the Virgin Mary.
Our entrance antiphon today from the Prophet Isaiah magnificently
proclaims the beauty upon the mountains
that the feet of him who brings glad tidings of peace, bearing good news,
announcing salvation are. These were Jesus’ feet, these were St. Luke’s
feet, these can be our feet today – feet that follow in the footsteps of the
Lord Jesus announcing the arrival of the new kingdom of God.
In the second reading St. Paul is telling Timothy that it is only Luke
who stands by him now – the announcing of the gospel separates the men from the
boys – and Luke turns out to be a man among men – a physician who understands
the entire person: made up of a feeble and wavering mind, an often times broken
down body, but a spirit that can soar like an eagle.
It is this entire person that the Lord wants to visit, lay hands on and
heal – mind, body and spirit. The parables of St. Luke are classic and
wonderful to behold, including one of the most awesome and powerful of all: The
Prodigal Son. God is ALWAYS READY to receive back anyone who comes to their senses and decides to head
home. He runs to meet us, to pamper us and throw us a big party.
Jesus in the gospel passage indeed is the primary announcer of peace! Peace seeks peace – and often causes a
challenging situation – until hearts and minds are changed, reconciled and
welcomed into the heart of the Prodigal Father. The only way our nation will
find peace, true interior peace of soul, before external peace in relations, is
for good men and women to stand up, say “enough is enough” and take necessary
God inspired actions to reprioritize and replace the personnel that needs weeding and replacing – beginning with the
one holding the highest office in the land: the president of these United
States.
Let us stand with these resistance forces and let the Light of Christ,
the Light of Truth, the Light of Peace shine forth: St. Luke would, St Luke,
the Physician, would recommend a quiet place where Mr. Trump could “play
president” without harming anyone, anyone at all.
Amen.
Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious
splendor of your Kingdom.
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