Charles Jordan

In Luke 9, Jesus commissioned and trained the Twelve to carry on his work. Here, he expands his workforce by adding seventy additional apostles to proclaim the Kingdom of God.

In these readings we encounter Jesus’s disclosure to the Twelve as to the meaning of his identity as the Christ, and Jesus’s instructions to them as to what is required of his disciples.

Jesus is the founder of the Kingdom of Heaven, but for the business to succeed, he needs others to share in the planning and responsibility of the venture. These are the Twelve.

Jesus knows that metaphorical storms will come upon the apostles and the church, and he wants his disciples (including us) to have a faith that trusts God to achieve his purpose even through disorder and apparent destruction.

In the readings this week we meet the sinful woman who loved Jesus and the Three Woman who follow Jesus.

In healing the Centurion’s slave and raising the widow’s son, Jesus is fulfilling the stories of Elisha and Elijah that he quoted in Nazareth.

We must love our neighbors, even those who are our enemies, and we cannot judge others by pointing out their sins when we still have sins of own. Rather, to be a follower of Jesus, we must always have an attitude of spiritual impoverishment borne of humility and contrition.

The first story of Jesus’ ministry in each gospel sets the tone for that Gospel and answers the question of who the gospel writer sees Jesus as. For Luke, Jesus is the fulfillment of the prophets.