“When the days for Jesus being taken up were fulfilled … .” Thus Luke begins the longest section of his Gospel, “the Journey to Jerusalem.” For Luke, the journey is an integral part of the passion, death, and resurrection/ascension of Jesus.

Luke begins: “Once when Jesus was praying….” The “praying” is a Lucan touch. In Luke’s Gospel Jesus characteristically prays before important events or before a major decision. This tells us that Luke himself was a man of prayer.

Being welcomed into a gathering makes all the difference in whether we feel comfortable or ill at ease. Imagine hearing someone say: “You’re not welcome here.” As a reporter attending various meetings over the years, I have been unceremoniously ejected from them occasionally, and when it happens, it’s a bit jarring.