St Luke the Evangelist

The 18th October is the Feast Day of St Luke. And what a lot we should be thankful for! It might seem blindingly obvious to say, but, we know about Jesus because people who met him, encountered him and believed in him, wrote about him. Without their testimony and witness, we today, would know nothing about Jesus. It makes me feel a sense of awe and wonder – we stand in a great line of witnesses.

By Anonymous Russian icon painter (before 1917) Public domain image (according to PD-RusEmpire) - http://www.museum.ru/alb/image.asp?12822, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3597619

It is often said that St Paul created Christianity as we practice it, but St Luke is also without comparison. St Luke wrote the Gospel that bears his name and the Acts of the Apostles, which means he wrote 25% of the New Testament.

Now, consider this, without St Luke we wouldn’t have Mary’s narrative and story. It is St Luke who tells us about Mary’s feelings and her cousin Margaret’s – he writes the story of the Annunciation and the Visitation. What of art without Luke! Above you will see an icon of St Luke painting the First Icon of the Virgin Mary. Tradition tells us that he was a painter and as he wrote the key texts of the Marian tradition the connection between him and the whole Marian tradition is established. 

Imagine Christmas without the Angel Gabriel or the shepherds in the fields. But, without Luke we would have to. It is Luke who pens the Magnificat (Mary’s song of praise) along with the Benedictus (Zechariah’s song of praise) and the Nunc Dimittus (Simeon’s song of praise). These great songs of praise begin his Gospel and the stories of the birth of John the Baptist and Jesus. Just think, no Evensong as we know it, as those texts would not exist! No Candlemas either, as only Luke has the story of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple.

Think too about some of your favourite parables in the Bible – only Luke has the Good Samaritan and the Prodigal Son, probably the most well known and loved of Jesus’ parables. It is Luke who has the short story of Mary and Martha – the one sitting at Jesus’ feet and the other busy in the kitchen; only Luke who tells us about Zacchaeus the tax collector who climbs a tree to see Jesus; only Luke who has the rich man and poor Lazarus at the gate; only Luke who tells the story of the Road to Emmaus. The list goes on.

St Luke has been characterised as an author who has a great concern for the outcast – for anyone on the margins, anyone who is rejected. And certainly, through his writings we see a master storyteller at work, weaving in women and the poor, the judged and the forgotten, the weak and the lost. He is concerned to tell the story of the sinner who repents and of the over-powering nature of God’s mercy and forgiveness.

Our Gospel passage (Luke 10:1-9) tells us how Jesus called the 70 and sent them out as labourers to work hard and prepare the way for people to receive Jesus. They were sent with little instruction, but with a clear and certain purpose. In the Acts of the Apostles we see a group of Christians travelling to and fro, seeking places where the Gospel of Jesus might be received- risking everything to carry the message. Luke was a companion of Paul – he didn’t know Jesus himself, but one of the early followers. St Luke is an example to all of us to live our vocations – and most of all to be witnesses.

As a society that has been drenched in Christianity, we may feel that this work has been done for us. But, we cannot be in any doubt that the message of Christianity has been rejected and ignored, witnesses are needed again. Those of us gathered here who have received the message from the Apostles, the eye-witnesses, and early believers are called by Jesus to be sent out again and to tell the message.

And we do that in an age that has mastered communication methods of all sorts, but is desperate for a message that can actually transform lives. At Christmas time we have a great opportunity to remind people of the Gospel stories that inspire us to believe. We are entering into that season of opportunity here at St Andrew’s – and God calls all of us to use that time productively to communicate the message of Jesus Christ.

Without St Luke, who listened to God, who worked hard for God, our lives would be so much the poorer. Each of us must consider the work that God has called us to. Can we collaborate with God to enrich human life? What might be our contribution?

St Andrew’s Church – sitting as it does, ‘at the heart of things’ - is called to be the spiritual heart of this town. We are called to tell the story, to witness to the love of God in our lives and to share the wonderful inheritance that we have received.