Synoptic Gospels and Acts

Director: Fr Randy Soto

Student: Johnson Lopez

April 15, 2008

The Gospel of Luke: Elena Bosetti

After Jesus had been crucified, Cleopas and his companion set out on a journey from Jerusalem to Emmaus. Along the journey, the disciples experienced a deep feeling of disappointment about Jesus’ death. They had gone with Jesus to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. This Passover should have been different because Jesus seemed to be the prophet who would end the anguished of the Israelites. Unexpectedly, a foreigner joined them. Jesus, the Risen Lord draws near them. But Jesus does not seem to be recognized by the two disciples.

When Jesus asks them: “What are you talking about?” The disciples reproach Jesus’ questioning because they didn’t recognized Him. “For the disciples to recognize him, it is not enough that Jesus draws near. Simply seeing with the eyes is not enough. Recognizing the Risen One is something that transcends the merely superficial. It requires an experience of faith.” (Bosetti 5-6) As the author points out, the simple fact of seeing Jesus walking with them does not open the eyes of the two disciples. In order to recognize Jesus it was necessary to show the words and acts of the Risen Lord.  

Jesus not only spoke to them but also broke the bread and gave it to them. “It is the sign that takes us back to the passion and, significantly, it is actually the act of breaking of bread that causes the disciples the eyes to open and recognize the Lord.” (Bosetti 10) The disciples were astonished by Jesus’ actions. They realized that He was the Risen Lord. They then began to talk about the miracle. They become, along with the women at the sepulcher, the eye witnesses of Jesus’ resurrection.      

Mary, the promised spouse of Joseph, is visited by the angel Gabriel. His message cannot be more striking. Mary did not know man and the angel is talking about a baby. The angel, however, explained her about the conception of that son to her. The Lord would come upon her through the Holy Spirit. The answer of Mary is what made her to be greatest among all women. “Here I am, the servant of the Lord, let it be according to your word.” (Bosetti 25) Does this affirmative answer mean that Mary understood completely the mystery of the incarnation? Probably not. “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.” (Bosetti 25-26) The strong faith of Mary made this possible. Such thing, the miracle of the incarnation, is happening to a young woman from the town of Nazareth. She just places this decision in the hands of the Lord.  

Another important figure in the revelation of the savior is Simeon. “Simeon’s eyes see in Jesus the light that is destined to shine before the face of the pagans: ‘then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together.’” (Bosetti 41) All the Jews were waiting for a prophet and king, a Maccabeus who would protect and save them from any invading army. Jesus Christ did not represent, for many Jews, the prophet and king of the promise because He did not speak about armies or war. His revolution involved a complete change of heart for everyone and liberation from sin.

When Jesus was teaching in the region of Galilee, the time of the festival of shelters came around in Judea. Jesus didn’t want to go there because the Jews were looking for Him. Jesus, however, changes his mind and went to Judea. He planned to go secretly. When He arrived in Judea, He went to the Temple and started to preach. “Here at Nazareth praise is mixed with the kind of amazement that comes very close to the question the evangelist John places in the mouth of the Jews: ‘where did the fellow get this learning, since he has not studied.?’” (Bosetti 63-64) Notice that the author remarks o the fact that the Jews were amazed with Jesus’ teaching. They assumed that they know Jesus. This is why they ask themselves “He has not been at the school?” (John 7: 15). Do the Jews really know Jesus? What Jesus did they know, the boy of Nazareth or the prophet that preach the kingdom of heaven? The Jews did not recognize Jesus as the Son of God because they did not follow him.  

I am amazed by Simon’s inner trust of Jesus’ words. “Simon shows his confusion and points out to the Master the objective difficulty in the undertaking. But he does not use this difficulty as an excuse. He is sincerely ready to trust Jesus. You ask me to do this and that is enough for me to let down the nets.” (Bosetti 73) Simon and his companions were fishing the entire night and caught nothing. Jesus came and said: “‘Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.’ Simon said in reply, ‘Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets.’" (Luke 5: 4-5) Simon knows that that was a difficult time to catch fish but he deeply trusted in the Lord. The caught was so great that the boats almost sink.  

Prayer is the remarkable attitude of Jesus when being tempted by the devil or judged at the hands his accusers. Through prayer, Jesus shows us His intimate relationship with God the Father. “The praying Jesus must have held a great fascination for his disciples, not only on the mount of the Transfiguration, but also elsewhere and on other occasions. For Luke, in fact, the prayer of the ‘Our Father’ has its foundation in the admiration of the disciples. Seeing Jesus recollected in prayer, one of them draws near and ask: Lord teaches us how to pray.” (Bosetti 87) The disciples’ fellowship is nourishing by Jesus’ prayer. They not only saw Him praying but also asked Him how to pray.    

If in the Gospels, the revelation of the Kingdom of God is accomplished by Jesus’ actions and words. Among all deeds of Jesus, the healing miracles have an important place. “The healing action of Jesus is a sign and conformation of his word. It is the Good News that brings salvation. The Gospel is truly strength for healing and the meaning of life. The savior has come in fact to liberate man and woman, restoring health, dignity, and joy for service.” (Bosetti 130) Right after Jesus’ baptism and desert where he was tempted, He began his public ministry in Galilee. Among many healings performed by Jesus we include: the healing of a man with a evil spirit in the town of Capernaum (Luke 4: 31-36), the healing of Simon’s mother-in-law from a high fever (Luke 4: 38-39), the healing of a man who suffered from a dreaded skin disease (Luke 5: 12), the healing of a man who suffered from paralysis (Luke 5: 17-20), and the raising of the son of a widow from dead in Nain. All these actions of healing are the open hand of Jesus to the poor, sick, and suffering person.      

Luke places much emphasis in human suffering. According to his Gospel, those who suffer will have great joy in heaven. “But those who rejoice now will experience the bitterness of tears, and those who are crying, great joy and liberation smiles.” (Bosetti 134) Every human being in any stage of his life experiences pain and affliction. Man tends to relate suffering with punishment or impurity. It is not, however, the case every experience of this kind. Innocent and gracious people are also exposes to suffering. We have to recognized, nonetheless, that sin brings about suffering and affliction. It seems that suffering is not alien to our human nature. One might wonder what the life without any adversity will be like. Will our lives have the same meaning without pain? I think that every adversity in one’s life brings about strength and courage to continue seeking for something greater than happiness on earth. Eternal life in heaven can be compared to a life without agony or misery. Before he experiences life in Christ, one must suffer death with Jesus on the cross.