Posted on 10/19/2008 8:07:06 PM PDT by Salvation
Life of St. Luke the Evangelist
The awesome figure of St. Luke looms larger and larger out of both the New Testament and the pages of documented human history so that nearly two thousand years after his death his image has no less been diminished by time than that of the Nazarene, Jesus Christ, whom he so nobly served. His fellow apostle St. Paul called him the 'glorious physician,' but that was only one of the many talents which this magnificent man applied in a service to God. He was a man of such monumental proportion as to make him appear incredible. His many gifts were spiced with unswerving loyalty, prolific reativity, and matchless perfection.
Hailing from the ancient city of Antioch, Syria, Luke was a Roman whose early conversion to Christianity is evidenced by his membership in the Christian community of Antioch, prior to his emergence as an apostle, after meeting Paul. He had by that time developed a remarkable command of the Greek language and employed its idiomatic expressiveness in his beautiful narrative form of recording history. He became the Church's most articulate historian and wrote with such sensitivity and clarity that his Gospel in the New Testament has been rightfully called the most beautiful book ever written.
Luke, a physician whose skills healed many of his suffering comrades, joined St. Paul on his second missionary journey, as recounted in the Acts of the Apostles. Their odyssey began in Troas, about 50 A.D., and took them to Philippi, Rome, Caesarea, and ultimately to the Holy Land of Jerusalem. His prominence as a physician obscured his skills as an eloquent orator in the cause of Christ, but he was later to display a considerable talent as an artist whose icon of the Virgin Mary he gave to the Mother of God herself and which is now the prized possession of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. Although his skill as a physician and his talent as an artist may have by themselves given St. Luke a small place in history, it was his consummate gift as a writer that made him one of the greatest figures in all Christendom.
Luke's contribution to the cause of Jesus Christ are beyond all measure, and his early influence on the Christian scene has enabled the Christian Church to rise to its ever increasing influence in human experience. One has only to read the Book of Acts, and his Gospel as well, to realize the stature of this most holy man; however, it is reserved to the privileged few who can comprehend classical Greek that the sheer beauty of his language can be appreciated.
The praises of Luke as a writer may seem excessive, particularly since he is one of many authors represented in the New Testament, chief among whom are St. Matthew (the man), St. Mark (the lion), and St. John (the eagle). Among these, the fourth, St. Luke, suffers in comparison with the title "St. Luke" (the calf). But out of the twenty-seven books comprising the New Testament, none shines with the brilliance of those composed by St. Luke. He is considered to have excelled beyond the others in expressiveness, historical method, sensitivity of narrative, and idiomatic phrasing.
The patron saint of physicians and artists, St. Luke is surrounded by many legends and traditions that have not withstood the test of time. The discounted accounts of his martyrdom must now give way to the actual facts of his life.
It is known that he remained a bachelor all of his life, devoting himself to the utmost degree to the cause of Christ. When advancing years curbed his campaigning, he withdrew to write his memorable accounts and died in Thebes at the age of eighty-four.
An appraisal of the contributions to Christianity by St. Luke cannot be measured by the number of words he wrote, the miles he traveled in missionary journeys, or the number of years he spent in exclusive dedication to the service of Jesus Christ. St. Luke, like so many who have given so much to all of us, is not to be appraised, only to be honored.
Through the prayers of Saint Luke, may the Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on us. Amen!
Indebted much to St. Luke are we for the Gospel of St. Luke and the Acts of the Apostles.
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The Feast of St. Luke is October 18th.
These comprise approximately 1/3 of the New Testament by written volume. Indebted indeed!
I love reading the Acts of the Apostles. There is so much there about the early church. (Including the struggles between areas and personalitieis.)
In Gospel of Luke, in the Easter afternoon account of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus who met the risen Christ — one was Cleophas, the other unnamed.
Many Bible scholars think the unnamed discipe was in fact St. Luke.
**Many Bible scholars think the unnamed discipe was in fact St. Luke.**
This is one of my favorite Gospel stories. I was not aware of the possibility of one of them being Luke. I guess I just always thought they were both unnamed.
What is amazing to me is just as Christ broke the bread, he disappeared. A vivid reminder of the Holy Eucharist and the Bread of Life/Body of Christ.
I had read somewhere that scholars believe Luke’s gospel to have been a narration by St. Peter, penned by Luke.
I have heard this about St. Mark’s Gospel. If there was an Apostolic source for Luke’s, he was probably St. Paul, though Luke, who made a point of asserting he did his own original research, very likely went straight to St. John and the Blessed Virgin for information.
St. Luke was a native of Antioch, the capital of Syria. He was by profession a physician; and some ancient writers say, that he was very skilful in painting. He was converted by St. Paul and became his disciple and companion in his travels, and fellow-labourer in the ministry of the Gospel. He wrote in Greek, about twenty-four years after our Lord's Ascension.
I am wearing a St. Luke medal right now.
**very likely went straight to St. John and the Blessed Virgin for information.**
I missed your post. My surmising also.
A careful reading of Luke 1 will explain that Yah'shua was not born on a Pagan feast.
shalom b'SHEM Yah'shua
But we still know that Christ being born on Booths is just as much myth as December 25. It's pure human tradition.
XS>story of the birth of Yah'shua on Sukkoth A careful reading of Luke 1 will explain that Yah'shua was not born on a Pagan feast.
But we still know that Christ being born on Booths is just as much myth as December 25. It's pure human tradition.
14 posted on October 22, 2008 2:44:51 PM MDT by topcat54
The question is whether you believe and trust Sukkot as the date is supported by Elizabeth's pregnancy of John the Immerser. Zacharias served as a high priest and based on his tribe, we know when he served John would have been born on Pesach. Most Jews believed that Elijah Factor in when Miriam visited her cousin Elizabeth, John (1:14) tells us that Yah'shua was made flesh and tabernacled among us. Eight days after the beginning of Sukkot is another Holy Feast Day called Shemini Atzeret. Eight days after a Jewish male is born he is circumcised. After the Eighth day comes the the most Joyous day: Nine months back from Sukkot is Chanukah where the light entered the temple.
the Holy Word of Elohim in Luke 1
or you trust the traditions of man Yah'shua's birth on Sukkot
shalom b'SHEM Yah'shua HaMashiach Adonai
(Sukkot is the Feast of Tabernacles or booths, where we live in temporary shelters.
Sukkot is when YHvH took on a temporary garment to be with His People
and to die as the Lamb of G-d on Pesach in order to bring salvation to all
who would call on His Name : Yah'shua ( YHvH is become my salvation)).
The time sequence is outlined by the Holy Word of Elohim in Luke 1 with Zacharias.
(1 Chronicles 24:7-18) and when he was struck dumb and when John was conceived.
would come at Pesach to announce the coming of the Messiah (Malachi 4:5).
Elizabeth was six months pregnant (Luke 1:26)
Thus the timing of Yah'shua's birth can be ascertained.
Simchat Torah or
the rejoicing in the Torah (The Word of Elohim).
Do not confuse your cleaverly devised scenario with the Word fo God. Given all the explicit dates we find in the Bible, if God wanted us to know the date of Christ's birth He would not need you to invent this elaborate paper chain.
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