Presentation of Elena Bosetti’s A Contemplative Reading of the Gospel: Luke: The Song of God’s Mercy

Made by Sr. Rachel Gosda, SCTJM Servants of the Pierced Hearts of Jesus and Mary

Luke’s Gospel is focused greatly on evangelization, the key elements of which can be found in the story of the Road to Emmaus. Thus, we begin our journey through the Gospel of Luke “from the end,” to so speak! Bosetti writes, “For the early Church, it is the end that explains the beginning. The Risen One is the decisive key, capable of ‘opening’ the Scriptures and of demonstrating the Christological meaning running throughout.” 1 Chapter One: “Were Not Our Hearts Burning within Us?”

Listening to the Word and seeing in faith, seeing with the heart are elements revealed at the end of this Gospel passage 2 : - So much of Jesus’ time with these disciples is focused on the Word, to which they listen; - Once they recognize Him (their eyes are opened and they believe), He vanishes from their sight - Jesus’ absence does not leave them in sadness, but in profound joy These are all elements of what evangelization means for Luke! From Emmaus to Jerusalem

In Luke’s Gospel, evagelization begins from heaven: it is heaven which announces the conception and birth of the Savior, and it is heaven which announces His rising from the dead He is the only evangelist to present the Infancy narratives and story of John the Baptist, in order to capture all of the rich beginnings of the history of evangelization Chapter Two: Heaven Evangelizes Earth

This is the first instance where Luke uses the verb “to evangelize,” describing the duty of the angel’s announcement The Gospel notes that “his prayer had been heard”: not only the prayer on behalf of the people, but possible, the silent prayer of Zechariah’s heart for a son. Bosetti writes, “What was good for Zechariah would also be for the good of the people” 3 We can see this similar logic in our own lives: how the Lord answers our prayers in the timing and according to what is best for us and for others… Announcement to the Priest Zechariah

“Full of grace”  “charis”  the merciful love of the Lord, of which Mary is full -As Bosetti notes, Gabriel does not refer to her initially by her name, but by this title, which can be seen as her new identity Mary’s “I do not know man” reveals not only her virginal state, but her intent to remain so Mary being the “servant of the Lord” identifies her even more closely with her Son. Bosetti writes, “The mother of the Messiah is in perfect spiritual harmony with the ideal of obedience that Jesus will live. She is mother above all in the obedience of faith” 4 The Annunciation to Mary of Nazareth

The divine logic in choosing to appear to the shepherds first hearkens back to Bethlehem, where Samuel anointed David as shepherd over the people of Israel; this Son of David has now been born Three titles for Jesus are revealed to the shepherds: Savior, Messiah, and Lord Announcement to the Shepherds

Elizabeth’s Spirit-filled praises of Mary, Mary’s Magnificat, the Benedictus of Zechariah, the angels’ praises at Jesus’ birth, and the Canticle of Simeon are all considered in this chapter Beginning with Elizabeth, we see how she is not only filled with the Spirit, able to recognize “her Lord,” but also, the greatness of the obedience and faith of Mary - Elizabeth is the first of the generations to call Mary “blessed” Chapter Three: The Gospel Liberates Song

The canticle is directed in two ways: vertical (directed and ascending to God) and horizontal (in communion with all of the poor and lowly of the earth, among whom Mary considers herself) Mary recognizes herself at the center of God’s salvific plan, but this does not take hold of her heart. Bosetti writes, “But in ‘being at the center’ [Mary] remains completely detached. She is there only in order to proclaim the wonders of the Lord.” 5 Mary’s Magnificat

Zechariah’s hesitancy at the Temple now explodes into praise! “Mercy” is a recurring theme in Mary’s song of praise, which is also echoed in Zechariah’s Benedictus -Verse 72 is the “hinge” of the canticle, so to speak. We see that the reason for God’s visitation is His mercy, His “tender compassion” Zechariah’s Benedictus

The primacy of the Spirit is noted in this passage: His name is mentioned three times: -“The Spirit of God” rested on him; -“The Spirit” had revealed to him; -“Guided by the Spirit,” he went into the Temple As Bosetti writes, “The elderly Simeon shows that he is familiar with God’s world and allows himself to be guided by the Spirit” 6 Directly following this account, Luke notes in detail the prophetess, Anna. After her praises to the Lord, she takes on a word of evangelization, “speaking of him to all who were awaiting the liberation of Israel” (2:38) The Canticle of Simeon

Unlike the other Gospels, John is not called “the Baptist” from the beginning; rather, he is noted as the “son of Zechariah” Luke alone notes the origin of John’s prophetic vocation, when the “word of God came to John [...] in the desert” (3:2) - This is reminiscent of the patriarchs of old, to whom the Word of God came in the midst of their lives Why was he in the desert? Bosetti brings up a good point: why would the son of a priest be found in the desert, with no interest in the worship of the Temple? Unlike scholars who posit that he was part of the Essence community, Bosetti posits that he knew his renewal would be moral, apart from the study of the Law, and that he would have to make and preach a courageous change of mentality for the Jewish people 7 Chapter Four: John, The Precursor and Evangelizer

John is also portrayed as an itinerant preacher, one who preached God’s word and repentance in an austere, direct, yet humble way The first words that we see him speak are like the Old Testament prophets of old, very sharp (“you brood of vipers!”) directed to all who were listening to him (unlike in Matthew and Mark, where these words are directed to the Pharisees) Luke notes how John takes questions from the crowds, answering them according to their state in life, which show that he was not aloof and removed from the people He did not preach the Kingdom of God so much as he preached the One who was to come. As Bosetti notes, “John’s ethical preaching, introduced with strong eschatological motivations [...] takes on a definitive Christological conclusion” 8 John, The Precursor and Evangelizer

Unlike the other Synoptics, Luke does not relate Jesus’ baptism. However, the portrait he paints of Our Lord clearly reveals his understanding of Jesus’ ministry and the nature of the Church: totally docile to the action of the Holy Spirit Luke relates how after his baptism, full of the Holy Spirit, Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert Chapter Five: Jesus of Nazareth is Sent to Evangelize the Poor

Jesus does not give the traditional homily after the reading of the Scripture; He simply declares what is true, and issues a solemn declaration unlike what any of them have heard before The crowd’s initial amazement turns to questioning, anger, and even murderous rage -Jesus cites the story of the widow of Zarephath, a pagan, a woman, and a widow, as a model of true faith Thus we see, as Bosetti writes, “Jesus’ mission of evangelization does not ‘obey’ people’s expectations, even those of his relatives or fellow townspeople [...] Rather, it docilely entrusts itself to the movement of the Spirit, perceived in prayer” 9 In the Synagogue of Nazareth

Unlike Mark’s Gospel, where it is almost impossible to picture Jesus without the disciples, it is only until chapter 5 of Luke’s Gospel that Jesus is pictured with His disciples Chapter 5 of Luke’s Gospel has the most emotion-filled and detailed calling of the first 4 disciples, particularly Peter, than the other Synoptics do The women who followed behind Him and ministered to Him and the disciples is another particularity of Luke We also see the disciples who were truly disciples, but stayed at home—Martha and Mary In all of these accounts from Luke, we can see the splendor of the Church: disciples in all vocations and states of life! Chapter Six: Men and Women Along the Way of the Gospel

Jesus’ prayer is the first theme that Bosetti takes up in chapter 7. We see that there are several terms that Luke uses to describe Jesus’ prayer: “to praise,” “to bless,” “to glorify,” “to give thanks,” and simply, “to pray” Bosetti spends quite a bit of time on the praise of Jesus to the Father, which, as she notes, is the only prayer transmitted in exactly the same way in two Gospels (Mt and Lk). Not even the “Our Father” is related the same! Chapter Seven: Jesus Rejoices for the Things that are Revealed to Little Ones