This week’s lectionary readings from Luke’s Gospel, chapter 8, focus on the formation of disciples. Luke repeats the parable of the Sower from Mark and Matthew, but instead of the mystery of the rejection of the Seed of Truth, Luke concentrates on the formation of “those who have heard the word, embrace it with a generous and good heart, and bear fruit through perseverance.” ( 8:15)

“Lamps on a lampstand; those who see them must see light. They need to take care how they hear.” (Luke 8: 16-18)

Who are the disciples who must care how they hear?  The Twelve or the 72 disciples sent out to preach are not the only ones. Jesus preaches the good news of the Kingdom of God through Judea accompanied also by “ the Twelve and some women…” ( Luke 7:51) And there are others too.

In the Acts of the Apostles, Luke’s church is a community of disciples who “devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles, the communal life, to the breaking of the bread and to the prayers.” (Acts 2:42) 

In this week’s readings Luke recalls Mary and some family members coming from Nazareth to see Jesus. ( Luke 8:18-19) Early in his gospel, Luke reports that the angel called Mary “blessed among women”. From the beginning she kept “all these things in her heart” . She would “hear the word of God and keep it.”  ( Luke 2:51) 

This week he compilers of the lectionary have paired Luke’s readings describing the formation of Jesus’ disciples with Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, important readings the Jewish people used for forming disciples.