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Bonaventure’s Commentary on Luke’s Gospel Thirty Days of Reflection and Prayer 14 Day Four: Read and meditate on Luke 3:1-14 Luke 3:10-12: “And the crowds asked John the Baptist: What then are we to do? And he answered: Let him who has two tunics share with him who has none. And let him who has food do likewise.” Bonaventure tells us: These simple folks are more eager to learn than the worldly wise. Thus John 7:48-49 says: “Have any of the rulers believed in him? … But this crowd, which is ignorant of the Law, is accursed.” Although these folks are considered accursed and reprobate by human beings, this is not God’s judgment of them. Matthew 11:25 says: “You have hidden these things from the wise and clever and have revealed them to the little ones.” … And what Jesus said about clothing which took care of an external need, he now applies to the internal need of food. Thus the text continues: “And let those who have food do likewise,” that is, if the person has food which exceeds what is necessary for life … Tobit 4:17 reads: “Eat your bread with the hungry and needy.” And Isaiah 58:7 addresses in one breath both of the matters just mentioned: “Share your bread with the hungry…. When you see someone naked, clothe him.” Note here that by ‘tunic’ and ‘food’ are understood all things, which can and must serve as alms. Thus, Jerome writes to Hebibia: “Whatever can suffice to cover our body and provide comfort to our human feebleness, is to be called ‘one tunic.’ For nature brought us forth naked. And whatever provides for our needs from present provisions, that is called ‘the food for one day.’” 15 Reflection Matthew 3:1-12 does not match the admonitions we find in Luke’s account of John the Baptist’s preaching. Again we note Luke’s emphasis on the social justice preaching of John and Jesus. Indeed, God lifts up the lowly (1:52) and finds that they respond generously to the preaching of God’s prophet John whereas very few of the religious leaders do. As Luke 7:29-30 states: “When they had heard what Jesus said about John the Baptist, all the people and the toll collectors justified God, having been baptized with John’s baptism. But the Pharisees and the lawyers, not having been baptized by him, brought to naught God’s purpose concerning themselves.” Bonaventure is not a fundamentalist, but in true biblical tradition and in accordance with contemporary methodology he takes “tunic” and “food” in the broadest sense possible. I give a preview of coming attractions and point to his exciting non-fundamentalist interpretation of Luke 11:3 “give us today our daily bread.” He moves beyond mere barley or even wheat loaves and finds reference to five loaves that give us bodily and spiritual nourishment. Prayer O Lord, I thank you for the courageous witness of John the Baptizer. He was not decked out in fine clothing. Nor did he retire to his luxury house after a hard day of preaching. Help me to imitate his life style, but especially open my heart to heed his message of generous self-sacrificing love to those in need. ...

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