Word to the Wise
Saturday, October 18, 2014 - Oct. 18 - St. Luke, evangelist
[2 Tim 4:10-17b and Luke 10:1-9]The Lord Jesus appointed seventy-two disciples whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit. [Luke]
Today we celebrate the feast of St. Luke, evangelist. We owe him a great debt in terms of our biblical faith! Consider the importance of the "Infancy Narrative," the story of Jesus conception and birth, etc. Consider the wonderful parables of the Good Samaritan, the Rich Man and Lazarus, the two men who go up to the temple to pray. Consider the wonderful incidents of Martha and Mary, or the woman who washes Jesus' feet with her tears and dries them with her hair!!!!! All of this is found in the Gospel of Luke and nowhere else. I love his version of the healing of the paralyzed man who was brought up on the roof. In Luke, the roof is Mediterranean - covered with tiles and not with mud mixed with branches! [Did you ever notice that detail?]
The Letter of Timothy mentions him as a disciple. Some traditions call him a "physician" and he is the patron of health care providers. But I hope the Beloved Congregation can take the opportunity sometime to read the whole Gospel of Luke as well as the Acts of the Apostles, of which he is also the author, and be amazed at what this one disciple has done for our tradition of faith! AMEN