This Gospel deals with two of Luke's favourite themes: poverty and prayer. Jesus tells the parable of the rich farmer who wants to build bigger and bigger barns to store all his wheat and everything else he owns. God said to him: ‘ You are a fool.Who will use all that you have stored up for yourself? The lesson about the precariousness of our earthly existence is obvious enough. But this parable is the answer to a prayer, and it is followed by a conclusion.
Cet Évangile aborde deux des thèmes privilégiés de Luc, la pauvreté et la prière. Jésus raconte la parabole du riche fermier qui veut se construire des greniers toujours plus grands pour y engranger tout son blé et tout ce qu’il possède. Dieu lui dit : « Tu es stupide. Tu mourras cette nuit. À qui tout cela que tu as amassé pour toi-même servira-t-il ? » La leçon sur la précarité de notre existence terrestre est assez évidente. Mais cette parabole est la réponse à une prière et elle est suivie d’une conclusion.
In the Gospel, we have two versions of Jesus' sending out on mission: the first, common to the three synoptic Gospels, is addressed to the twelve Apostles; the other, longer version, which we have just read and which is specific to Luke, is addressed to the seventy-two disciples.
There was a time when public functions in society were seen as services that certain people were called upon to render to the community, often at their own expense. Things are quite different today! Candidates often spend huge sums of money trying to convince people to elect them to these offices.
Dans l'Évangile, nous avons deux versions de l'envoi en mission par Jésus: la première, commune aux trois Évangiles synoptiques, s'adresse aux douze Apôtres; l'autre, plus longue, que nous venons de lire, et qui est propre à Luc, s'adresse aux soixante-douze disciples.
Il y eut un temps où les fonctions publiques dans la société étaient considérées comme des services que certaines personnes étaient appelées à rendre à la collectivité, souvent à leurs propres frais. Les choses sont assez différentes de nos jours! Les candidats dépensent souvent des sommes énormes pour tenter de convaincre les gens de les élire à ces fonctions.
I knew a Baptist minister, who was a very good Christian, and who used to come often to make retreats at our monastery in Conyers. Several years ago he did not feel too well and went to see a doctor. After a series of tests the doctor told him that he had terminal cancer, and had probably only a few months to live. The man received that news with a very great peace and did not seem to be disturbed at all. The doctor was puzzled by that serenity and told him: "Most people are very deeply disturbed or even discouraged when they are told that they have cancer, especially terminal cancer. How is it that you are so peaceful" The man answered: "Well, my conviction is that we are all terminal!"