Feast of Saint Luke, evangelist
Today we celebrate the feast of St. Luke, the Evangelist. Author of the gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles, Luke has been known as a physician and companion of St. Paul the Apostle. To him we owe much of our knowledge concerning the beginnings of Jesus on earth, such as Gabriel’s annunciation to Mary, Mary’s visit to Elizabeth, the Nativity at Bethlehem, the visit of the shepherds, Jesus’ presentation in the Temple, and the loss and finding of the boy Jesus in the Temple. To Luke we also owe much of our knowledge about the beginnings of the Church. His adventure story of the Acts of the Apostles has been described as a history written in the tradition of Greek historians at the time. Luke was an eyewitness to these early Church events and saw fit to record them for the benefit of the Church.
And we continue to benefit from Luke’s words today. Today’s gospel selection for Luke’s feast is taken from his gospel and contains what is known as the commissioning of the 72 disciples. Some have suggested that Luke himself was among these 72. But regardless of this, we see from Luke’s account the importance of evangelization; Jesus was not content to go quietly about his business by himself. Instead, he enlisted the help of others to spread the word that the Kingdom of God is at hand. By recording this account in his gospel, Luke continues to evangelize us today, for the Kingdom of God is at hand.
But the best part of this is that, thanks to Luke, we know the full story. Jesus’ time on earth was not simply about commissioning the 72 disciples. Nor was it about the 12 apostles, nor was it about all the wonderful infancy narratives found in Luke’s gospel. No, the climax of Luke’s story is Jesus’ passion, death, and resurrection. When we look at the gospel as a whole we see that these other parts – interesting, beautiful, and poignant though they may be – are all directing us to recognize Jesus as the Messiah when he encounters his suffering and death in Jerusalem. Luke’s gospel is the account of a journey, Jesus’ journey to the cross and resurrection.
We continue to share in Jesus’ journey during this season of Ordinary Time. We remember that the Kingdom of God is still at hand. We are invited each day to be a part of this kingdom, recognizing Jesus as our King and Messiah. This small babe, whose conception was announced by an angel and who was born in manger in Bethlehem, is our savior. This man, who commissioned his disciples and worked miracles among the sick and afflicted, also died for our sins. This prisoner, who dying on the cross commended his spirit to his Father, was also raised from the dead to new life, appearing to his disciples several times, including Emmaus.
As we remember St. Luke the Evangelist today, let us pray that we might keep these gospel stories close at hand and deep in our hearts, that we might live them out in our daily lives. St. Luke, pray for us to recognize God’s Kingdom at hand!
- Maria Morrow