Today
the Church celebrates the feast day of St. Luke, the patron saint of the
Episcopal Church in Livingston.
St. Luke
is the author of two of the books in the New Testament: the Gospel according to
Luke, which was written between 70 and 85 AD, and the first sequel in the New
Testament, the Acts of the Apostles. He is the only Gentile Christian among the
Gospel writers, and according to tradition, Luke was from Antioch. St. Paul calls Luke as “our beloved
physician.”
Luke refers
to himself in the Acts if the Apostles during Paul’s second journey. Luke
remained at Philippi for several years until Paul returned from his third
journey, and Luke accompanied Paul to Jerusalem, and remained near him when
Paul was imprisoned in Caesarea.
Although
it is part of the “synoptic” Gospels, Luke is quite unique. He has a tendency to show how God turns
things upside down, the reverse of what the world expects. In his Gospel, the women have a prominent
role, the poor are raised up, and salvation is open to the Jewish people and
the Gentiles alike.
Luke’s
Gospel has been given a number of subtitles, including, the Gospel of Mercy; the
Gospel of Universal Salvation; the Gospel of the Poor; the Gospel of Absolute
Renunciation; the Gospel of Prayer and the Holy Spirit, and the Gospel of Joy.
Let us
pray: Almighty God, who inspired your servant Luke the physician to set forth
in the Gospel the love and healing power of your Son: Graciously continue in
your Church this love and power to heal, to the praise and glory of your Name;
through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of
the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
