Wednesday, October 18, 2023
Feast of St. Luke, Evangelist!
2 Tim 4:10-17; Lk 10:1-9
Experiencing and Integrating Jesus as Luke Did!
Today, we celebrate the feast of St. Luke, the evangelist!
As a gospel writer, Luke’s vision of Jesus is quite impressive!
In my opinion, St. Luke experienced Jesus so uniquely that in his Gospel, he takes diligent care to present Jesus as more inclusive, compassionate, forgiving, communal, and liberative. For this reason, we have eleven parables that are unique to Luke. Parables like the Good Samaritan (Lk 10:30-37), Prodigal Son (Lk 15:11-32), Dives and Lazarus (Lk 16:19-31), and Pharisee and the Tax Collector (Lk 18:9-14) enjoy universal acclaim, offering spiritual and moral yardsticks to many.
It is no exaggeration to say that through his distinctive rendering, St. Luke has enabled many to fall in love with Jesus.
Also, if there is one New Testament book with which even people from other faith traditions enjoy natural resonance, it is the Gospel of Luke. This is why it is variously known as the Gospel of the Gentiles, the Gospel of Women, the Gospel of the Marginalized, the Gospel of the Poor, etc.
Another unique feature of Luke’s gospel is Jesus, the healer. Thanks to his profession, Luke also discovered Jesus as the physician of souls and presented the same!
Finally, we come across Luke as Paul’s faithful missionary companion. The consensus among scholars is that it was Luke’s medicine that must have kept Paul alive whenever he was physically injured due to his dangerous travels, shipwrecks, and punishments for proclaiming the Good News!
Luke’s experience and integration of Jesus were particularly unique that he drew so humane a portrayal of Jesus, in whom we find our neighbor, friend, consoler, and redeemer!
Fr. Dhinakaran Savariyar
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Very good reflection Father. Luke s experience and integration of his experience in his evangelization. A very good way of saying it. Thank you 🙏🏾