The Lord stood by me and gave me strength,
so that through me the proclamation might be completed
and all the Gentiles might hear it. (2 Tm 4:17)
In his second letter to Timothy, Paul was lamenting the fact that many people had done him wrong, in one way, shape or form and that, in the process, the early Christian community was adversely affected by it.
However, Paul was not going to give up.
He would hand everything over to the Lord and continue trusting that all was being covered by God’s plan for him and for his people.
Paul also celebrated the fact that one of the people with him had remained, Luke.
Luke, a disciple of Paul, was very instrumental to us in getting to know both the Lord as well as the Christian community as he authored the Gospel according to Luke and the Acts of the Apostles.
We celebrate the feast of St. Luke this day.
We may not be called to take as critical a role as Luke or Paul in the Church. However, we are being called to live faithfully, trusting that God’s plan can and will work through us — as long as we remain open to it.
Being a disciple or an apostle was never an easy task.
There may be hatred or division because of it. That is due to the fact that some people will never accept God’s Word.
But, preach it, we must.
FAITH ACTION: Have you faced resistance when you spoke about God? Has that kept you from sharing your faith? Go out and proclaim the Good News today.