Chosen but not perfect

The Roman Catholic Lectionary today uses texts to commemorate the feast of the evangelist Luke. Tradition is the source of much of the information about this author of a Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles. FriarJude Winkler tells us that he was a physician and a Gentile. The language and medical detail in his writing point to an educated person. The text from the second letter to Timothy indicates that Luke was with Paul. Scholars have placed Luke as a disciple of Paul. We understand through the personalities of the evangelists and the apostles that God uses imperfect humanity by choice to be the labourers in the field. The disputes between the holy men of our tradition are sometimes forgotten as we sanitize their life stories. This is very unfortunate. The trust in God required by imperfect agents as they try to bring peace and healing to others is absolutely necessary. The expression of the mission in the Gospel of Luke to proclaim that the Law of God does reign in the lives of people through the Spirit in their relationship with the Incarnate Son is witnessed in the transformation and transcendence in the lives of the disciples who gather the harvest. Perfect lives would not require us to join the psalmist to cry out to God and know the Presence which comes near and changes those who call on Him in truth.