The Priest-Martyr Gregory, Bishop of Great Armenia (284-305)
Philippians 1:20-27; Luke 6:12-19
Read Luke 6:12-19
Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!
One detail about the life of Christ that St. Luke often emphasizes is the time that he spends in prayer. Often Jesus will step back from the busyness of ministry and preaching to spend time in all night prayer. Why would Jesus have to do this? Is he not the Son of God and continually in communion with the Father and the Holy Spirit? This detail of prayer is written intentionally by St. Luke because he was writing to a non-Jewish audience who was not formed in the mindset and priority of prayer in life. Jewish people were formed by the Law of Moses to offer times of prayer throughout the day and they grew up with it as a natural part of life. So Gentiles—non-Jews—needed to be taught the importance of it. Jesus is setting the prime example of what he expects us to imitate.
St. Ambrose also points out that there is even a greater purpose for this detail: “The Lord prays, not to entreat for himself, but to intercede for me. Although the Father placed all things in the power of his Son, yet the Son, in order to fulfill the form of a man, thinks that the Father must be entreated for us, because he is our Advocate… If he is an Advocate, he must intercede on account of my sins…” (Exposition of the Gospel of Luke 5.42-43). The New Testament teaches that Jesus is our continual intercessor at the right hand of God the Father. (John 14:16-17, Romans 8:34, John 16:7, Colossians 3:17, Hebrews 7:25, 1 John 2:1). This is Jesus’ continual work for each and everyone of us. He is the High Priest of all creation bringing each of us to God the Father.