Luke tries to link the Jews and Gentiles by showing us that Jesus was not just on earth to save the Jewish people, but also everyone else. As in Lk:10.27 it says that you are to love your neighbour as you love yourself, so we have to learn to forgive people and love them as we love ourselves. In the parable of the Good Samaritan the man who was kind helped the injured man, and then Jesus told the teacher of the Law to do the same. This story also teaches us to think of others and help them when they are in need, which people these days find difficult as they are too selfish.
Jewish people thought that poverty was a curse, and a sign of rejection from the Jewish community. Jew’s also thought that riches were a reward for goodness. In Luke’s gospel Jesus removes the negative attitude towards the poor by saying ‘Happy are you who are poor; the kingdom of God is yours’ in Lk:6.20. He also puts the rich people who boast down in Lk:6.24 by saying ‘But how terrible for you who are rich now; you have had your life easy.
Luke’s gospel is used in prayer today to help to confirm and intensify people in their religion and in the faith of themselves.
St Luke shows that the attitude towards woman has drastically changed in Lk:.26, which is when the birth of Jesus is announced. It shows that God has chosen trusts a normal young woman to give birth to his child. In Lk:15.8-10 a woman loses one of her 10 silver coins, instead of just leaving it, the woman lights a lamp, and looks everywhere until she finds it. She celebrates and says that angels are doing the same over the sinner who is sorry.
The parable of the prodigal son (Lk:15.10-15) is a story about a son who wants to leave his life on his father’s farm with him and his brother. He asks his father for his inheritance early, and then leaves to start what he thinks will be a new, great life. The son who leaves is reckless with the money, and soon has to return because he had run out of money, and at one point had even resorted to working with pigs, which are said to be unclean animals by the Jewish law. When the son returned his father threw a huge party for him. This allegory teaches us that if you aren’t prepared to take risks you will find your life very boring. This also teaches us that you should be able to forgive someone and not hold grudges against him or her when they are sorry. For a lot of people today this would be very difficult, as people are often very self-centred without realizing, and often hold grudges over very petty things. When Jesus was up on the crucifix in Lk:23.40-43, and everyone is laughing at him, one of the criminals who was to the side of him said to Jesus ‘Remember me Jesus when you come as King!’ and Jesus tells the man that he will be in Paradise with him when he dies.
Written by Laura, Greenock