St. Luke: A Friend in Faith
Fr. Felix Phiri, SMM
St. Luke: A Friend in Faith
Today the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Luke, evangelist.
Luke wrote his Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles. Together, they represent approximately twenty-five percent of the New Testament’s scripture. Interesting, Luke begins his Gospel.
Since many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the events that have been fulfilled among us, just as those who were eyewitnesses from the beginning and ministers of the word have handed them down to us, I too have decided, after investigating everything accurately anew, to write it down in an orderly sequence for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may realize the certainty of the teachings you have received.
Luke: A Man of Many Talents
Luke is not one who walked with Jesus. He heard the teachings of the Apostles and read all that was written about Jesus and His ministry. Assembling all this information, he sits down and creates an orderly account . . . which becomes the Gospel. Luke was an extraordinary writer . . . and more. He was a physician and was well educated. He was also a painter.
There was a time when people questioned why having four Gospels was a good idea, since Luke’s Gospel was so well written. What is important was Luke followed Paul and heard him speak. In doing so Luke converts to Christianity based on the strength and testimony of Paul’s teachings of Jesus Christ.
Luke: A Follower and Friend to St. Paul
When this happens, he becomes a companion of Paul. When Paul is imprisoned, Luke (secretly) visits him to learn further of Paul’s experiences, mission and wisdom. It is based on these conversations and Paul’s experiences that we have the Acts of the Apostles. When we hear in the first few chapters of the Acts of the Apostles about the Resurrection, we are hearing and understanding St. Paul’s description of this amazing event.
Paul mentioned that several companions of Paul . . . we might even call them disciples of Paul . . . abandoning him. However, Luke remained. Luke was a dear friend of Paul in faith. Paul suffers in chains in prison. But he has a friend in Luke with him. Hear more in the Homily!
Interesting, Luke is the only Gospel that tells us about the “72” disciples going out two-by-two. This is today’s scripture reading. The Homily tells us these ministers were not sent alone, but in pairs. We also hear more on the Topic: Friends in Faith are friends to gather together to pray. We all need friends in faith, even today. It is important within our Spiritual Journey. Understand why this is important. Listen more within the Homily.
Hear more in this Meditation Media and understand its message for our own Spiritual Journey. Listen to:
St. Luke: A Friend in Faith
Mary in the Gospel of St. Luke
The Queen previously published two separate sets of articles reviewing Mary in the Gospel of St. Luke. They can be found in the Long Running Article Series here.
The two sets of articles are:
Mary, In The Gospel of Luke: The Annunciation Series (direct link)
and
Mary, In The Gospel of Luke: The Infancy Narratives (direct link).
16th-century Russian version showing copy of the Theotokos of Vladimir: Vladimir Mother of God
As we hear in the Homily, St. Luke was multi-talented. He was a painter. Tradition has it that he painted the Blessed Mother.
Our Lady of Perpetual Help
The first image below is Our Lady of Perpetual Help. It is said that artists through the years took St. Luke’s painting and made artistic adjustments. Our Lady of Perpetual Help, which dates to 1495, and is likely a great deal older, is said to have been influenced by St. Lukes original painting.
The second image:
St. Luke Painting The Virgin: Italian Painter: Raphael: early 1500s
St. Luke is accredited with painting the Madonna and Child (see this link and this link for more information on accredited St. Luke paintings). This painting, by Raphael in the early 1500s, includes Raphael in the background.
Please check out the two links above on this website displaying other images of Our Lady influenced by St. Luke.
Return to Meditation Media
Gospel Reading: Luke: 10: 1-9
First Reading: 2 TIM: 4: 10-17
St. Luke: A Friend in Faith