Feast of St. Luke, evangelist
The Lord Stands By Us
“Luke is the only one with me.” (2 Timothy, First Reading)
A desperate, perhaps lonely St. Paul… We can sense his humanity in his writing to St. Timothy. In his letter, he reports the loss of personnel working with him in the mission field—Demas, Crescens, Titus: they “deserted” him. He asks Timothy to bring support, not only Mark, but also supplies needed to continue: a cloak, papyrus rolls, “…and especially the parchments.” Don’t forget the parchments!
What St. Paul so courageously started—the preaching of the Good News to the Gentiles—St. Luke brought to completion—or as far as he was able, with St. Paul arriving in Rome at the end of Acts of the Apostles. Paul wrote letters to various disciples and churches; some of them were preserved and are honored as holy scripture. Luke wrote a two-volume work addressed to someone named Theophilus, and to every lover of God in the generations since. In a way, Paul tilled, Luke planted, and God gave the growth.
Today, we give thanks to the work of St. Luke and others, perhaps, who helped him gather and investigate everything accurately anew. (cf. Luke 1:3) Like St. Paul, St. Luke had the holy fire to “…tell the people everything about this life” (Acts 5:20) and to “…write it down in an orderly sequence for you…” (cf. Luke 1:3)
St. Luke, beloved writer, physician, artist—pray for us and for our mission.
Reflection by Br. Luke Kral, OSB
Posted in Articles for Ordinary Time, Daily Reflections