Today we celebrate the Feast of St. Luke, the writer of the Gospel and the book of Acts. Luke was a first century, Gentile Christian. Some sources say that Luke was one of the 70 missionaries that Jesus sent out, some say that he was one of the disciples that Jesus appeared to after his resurrection, while on the Road to Emmaus. Others have said that Luke had a special friendship with our Lady, Mary. We can’t know any of this for sure.
What we do know for sure is that Luke was a physician and faithful companion to St. Paul. He accompanied Paul on missionary journies and Luke remained in Rome, serving Paul while he was in prison, until the day that Paul was beheaded by Roman authorities… And if you’re familiar with the scriptures, with the stories of St. Paul, it’s not hard to see why Paul needed his best friend to be a physician! Paul was forever in need of an emergency room, whether because he was starving in some remote wilderness, suffering from the cold, being bitten by snakes – or, because he was always offending somebody and being beaten up or being stoned and left for dead! There’s no doubt that St. Paul kept his beloved Doctor quite busy.
I wouldn’t doubt that Luke waited until after Paul’s death to write the Gospel and the Book of Acts. Fortunately for us, he lived to be 84 years before he died in old age and he had plenty of time to write. And he did. The commentary I’d turned to for guidance says that Luke actually contributed more material to the New Testament than any other writer, including Paul. I’m a little skeptical. But it’s not so much how much St. Luke wrote that counts, but what he wrote…
Luke is my favorite author in the Bible. Countless books have been written about his intellect, his charm, his good humor, his emphasis on compassion and social justice… I could go on and on about the joyous wonder that is St. Luke! For one thing, if he had not written the Book of Acts, we have would have precious little idea regarding the day-to-day lives of the first century church – no other new testament author has given us so many detailed and delightful stories (as opposed to letters)… Anyway, as I was saying, I could go on and on about the joyous wonder that is St. Luke, but I’d rather buckle down and focus on one of Luke’s more unique contributions, his particular portrait of what the Good News is.
What we do know for sure is that Luke was a physician and faithful companion to St. Paul. He accompanied Paul on missionary journies and Luke remained in Rome, serving Paul while he was in prison, until the day that Paul was beheaded by Roman authorities… And if you’re familiar with the scriptures, with the stories of St. Paul, it’s not hard to see why Paul needed his best friend to be a physician! Paul was forever in need of an emergency room, whether because he was starving in some remote wilderness, suffering from the cold, being bitten by snakes – or, because he was always offending somebody and being beaten up or being stoned and left for dead! There’s no doubt that St. Paul kept his beloved Doctor quite busy.
I wouldn’t doubt that Luke waited until after Paul’s death to write the Gospel and the Book of Acts. Fortunately for us, he lived to be 84 years before he died in old age and he had plenty of time to write. And he did. The commentary I’d turned to for guidance says that Luke actually contributed more material to the New Testament than any other writer, including Paul. I’m a little skeptical. But it’s not so much how much St. Luke wrote that counts, but what he wrote…
Luke is my favorite author in the Bible. Countless books have been written about his intellect, his charm, his good humor, his emphasis on compassion and social justice… I could go on and on about the joyous wonder that is St. Luke! For one thing, if he had not written the Book of Acts, we have would have precious little idea regarding the day-to-day lives of the first century church – no other new testament author has given us so many detailed and delightful stories (as opposed to letters)… Anyway, as I was saying, I could go on and on about the joyous wonder that is St. Luke, but I’d rather buckle down and focus on one of Luke’s more unique contributions, his particular portrait of what the Good News is.
Anyone who has studied the gospels knows; each one of the gospel writers gives us a slightly different portrait of Jesus and a different picture of what the “Good News” is. St. Matthew, for example, presents Jesus as Messiah, Suffering Son of Man and the one who will render justice for everyone at the End of time. St. John portrays Jesus in a very mystical way, he is the Logos, the creative Word of God and the Passover Lamb. Luke portrays Jesus as the compassionate Liberator, he has Jesus in the temple reading; 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free…” This is not the only reference that Luke makes to the poor, the lame, the blind, the outcast. His entire gospel is a parade of the poor being provided for, the blind and lame being healed, the outcast being embraced by Jesus. Throughout the entire gospel, Luke creates a “Table Theology”, where God’s Kingdom is portrayed as a banquet and ALL are invited! – without exception. It’s a joyous riot! It would be easy to mistake this for the whole of Luke’s “Good News”. But if we do, we miss something so profound, something that is so powerful that it raises the hair on my arms and my neck.
To illustrate for you what I mean, let’s compare Jesus’s birth story in Matthew with Luke’s story about Mary and the angel Gabriel: Matthew 1:18 ”This is how the birth of Jesus Christ took place. His mother Mary was engaged to Joseph, but before they were married, she found out that she was going to have a baby by the Holy Spirit.” That’s it. One verse. That’s all. In the very next verse, we read; “And meanwhile back on the ranch, Joseph was contemplating divorce.”… Matthew completely drops Mary, completely drops the Holy Spirit and focuses on Joseph.
Compare that one single verse to the long, lyrical and poignant story that Luke gives us in our Gospel! Luke is highlighting this event, he’s trying to tell us something.
I’ve read the Bible cover-to-cover more than 7 times, I’ve studied it for years at college. And for me, Luke’s story of Gabriel’s Annunciation to Mary and Mary’s “Yes!” is the most profound, most powerful passage – it is the hub that the entire wheel of the Bible and the Church revolves around, without it we have NOTHING. This here, is the Good News – that God chose Mary to be a co-worker and intimate partner in Creation and Salvation. And may I add, if God felt that he needed Mary, still needs Mary – who are we to think that we do not?
I mean, really, think about it. God is reportedly All Powerful, All Knowing, All loving, etc… He could have had Jesus appear, full bodied and fully grown in the middle of the Temple, ready to take charge – Instant Salvation… Why not? The Greek and Roman gods and goddesses reportedly did. For that matter, so what? So Adam and Eve screwed up, we as the human race have screwed up, so what? As the Scripture says; “love covers a multitude of sins”, why couldn’t God just say; “I love you, forgive you.” And let that be the whole of Salvation? Why this long, bloody, passion play that we call human history? Why the long, wandering missionary journies of Jesus? Why that horrific Crucifixion? We can guess some of the reasons, others will remain mysteries ‘till the end of the time.
Whatever the reasons, God decided he needed Mary. And he decided that he needed her for more than just an incubator for his only Begotten Son… He needed her to feed Jesus, to clothe him, to hold and cuddle him, to teach him how to walk, to teach him good manners, to discipline him, to play with him, to teach him, to kiss his boo-boos. God needed her to devote her LIFE, first to Jesus and then as Luke testifies in the book of Acts, to devote her life to the mothering and care of the first century Church… This is exciting stuff! God needs Mary, he wants Mary, he works and plays in intimate partnership with Mary. As Paul would say, God is closer to Mary than her very breath.
What makes Mary so special? Why her? My answer to you, and Luke’s answer to you is; Mary is special only in the fact that she was First. Everything you see, hear or read about Mary, is true for you as a believer, too. This what Luke was saying in the story of the Pentecost. The Holy Spirit over-shadowed Mary and she gave birth to the Body of Christ. The Holy Spirit over-shadowed the Believers and they, too, joyously gave birth to the Body of Christ. God decided he needed you, and you, and you… And just in case you didn’t get it the first two times, Luke thought this message was so very important that he tells the story yet a third time! Acts 10:44-46 Peter was in the home of Cornelius, a captain in the Roman army… ”While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit came down on all those who were listening to his message. The Jewish believers who had come from Joppa with Peter were amazed that God had poured out his gift of the Holy Spirit on the Gentiles also. For they heard them speaking in strange tongues and praising God’s greatness. Just for giggles, let’s compare these 3 “Pentecost” stories by Luke with the Pentecost story found in the Gospel of John.
John 20:19-22 ”It was late that Sunday evening, and the disciples were gathered together behind locked doors, because they were afraid of the Jewish authorities. Then Jesus came and stood among them. ‘Peace be with you,’ he said. After sayign this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples were filled with joy at seeing the Lord. Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father sent me, so I send you.’ Then he breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’”Pentecost gets two whole verses in the Gospel of John and no mention in Mark or Matthew. Again, Luke is highlighting these 3 events, he’s trying emphasize something incredible and profound. Luke is trying to tell you something.
Luke is saying that salvation is collective, it must happen in community. He’s saying that God needs you, and you, and you… God needs you to feed the hungry, heal the sick, visit the imprisoned, give your neighbor a hug and a smile, he needs you pray and to love – to work with him in bringing Tikkun Olam; that is healing, justice and love to the world.
And guess what? The Church agrees with Luke. As I’d mentioned on the Feast of St. Michael and All Angels, the Consecration of Eucharist and the Forgiveness of sins in Confession are services reserved for the Priest. But it is equally true, that without you – there are no sacraments. You are co-creators with God, you are birthing Christ… You know this because you are called to participate in Mass, as opposed to just sitting passively and watching the priest do all the work for you. When I was a child, we used to kneel in adoration during the consecration of the Eucharist, God and the priest performed this sacramental act alone and we, the Faithful were passive recipients. The Church decided, however, that this was not a truly representative portrait of how our salvation is worked. So, now we are asked to stand, with the priest (who stands as representative of God), we are asked to pray out loud with the priest (who stands as representative of God) and work together with God to manifest the Christ – in just the same way that God and Mary worked together. This is the Good News, the incredible news, the profound news. God wants to be closer to you than your very next breath, he wants to work and to play in an intimate way with you to heal the world, to transform the world, to bring something Divine and wonderful into being.
