Start:Stop-Celebrating St Luke

Descent of the Holy Spirit, Roman Barbakh, 2017 (Icon Art)

An audio version of this week's reflection can be found here.

This week the church celebrated the Feast of Saint Luke. All we know about Luke comes from the bible; including Gospel attributed to him as well as the Acts of the Apostles, which most consider to have been written by the same author. 

Luke was a highly educated man, well versed in both the Hebrew Scriptures and Greco-Roman forms of literature as we can see from his sophisticated and creative writing. Together, the Gospel and Acts of the Apostles make up more than a quarter of the New Testament. Studies have demonstrated Luke’s wide ranging vocabulary - his gospel contains over 800 words not found elsewhere in the New Testament. 

This passage, unique to Luke’s Gospel, describes the beginning of the ministry of Jesus. It introduces many themes that are developed later including, perhaps, an indication of Jesus’ death.

Bible Reading – Luke 4.16-30

When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:

‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
   because he has anointed me
     to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
   and recovery of sight to the blind,
     to let the oppressed go free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.’

And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to say to them, ‘Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.’ All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They said, ‘Is not this Joseph’s son?’ He said to them, ‘Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, “Doctor, cure yourself!” And you will say, “Do here also in your home town the things that we have heard you did at Capernaum.” ’ And he said, ‘Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in the prophet’s home town. But the truth is, there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up for three years and six months, and there was a severe famine over all the land; yet Elijah was sent to none of them except to a widow at Zarephath in Sidon. There were also many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.’ When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with rage. They got up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they might hurl him off the cliff. But he passed through the midst of them and went on his way.


Reflection 

Both the Gospel of Luke and Acts of the Apostles are addressed to someone called Theophilus which, tantalisingly, could be the name of a learned Roman or an honorary title applicable to many (the name means “lover of God” in Greek). Either way, Luke is the only Gospel writer to clearly set out the purpose of his text; which is that Theophilus may “know the truth concerning the things about which [they] have been instructed.”

Thought to have been written around 70AD, in telling the Good News of Jesus by drawing extensively on the Hebrew Scriptures and utilizing literary techniques that would be well known to the academic and learned members of society at the time, some believe that Luke was seeking to establish Christianity as a legitimate religion, rooted in history and tradition - perhaps in order to convince the Romans to stop the persecutions that were being inflicted on the church. This sense of bridge-building might be heard in Luke’s more generous treatment of both the Jewish and Roman authorities than we find Matthew or Mark; although in no sense is his gospel any less radical. 

Uniquely to Luke’s Gospel, Jesus’ ministry begins in the synagogue when he is handed a scroll containing the writings of the prophet Isaiah, verses from which he selects to read aloud. Afterwards he declares “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

The sense of living today is a defining feature Luke’s text. Unlike Mark’s Gospel, Luke does not understand the second coming of Christ to be imminent; which may explain why he has a great deal to say about how Christians should live in the here and now. The attention he pays to issues of wealth, poverty and social justice may be because he believed that the followers of Jesus would be on earth long enough to effect change. If Luke was an educated Hellenized Jew, he is likely to have benefited from the social structures of the time - which adds a further, personal dimension to the radical message of the Gospel, with its emphasis on welcoming the outcast and the outsider; feeding the hungry with good things while the rich go empty away.

The verses Jesus reads from Isaiah establish the distinctive character of his ministry; to bring Good News to the poor and the oppressed, to heal the sick, to release those who are captive and bring sight to the blind; characteristics which we remember by the great parables we find in Luke’s gospel, which include the Good Samaritan and the Prodigal Son. 

Luke is the only Gospel writer to explicitly describe Jesus as Saviour. Encountering Jesus liberates us from whatever is holding us captive and preventing us from living our lives as God intended - a salvation we can assume that Luke experienced for himself. 

But Luke he doesn’t impose his own, one-size-fits-all approach, to living according to the values of the Kingdom. In the gospel we encounter different approaches from different people. Someone with two coats gives one away. A man who owns a field sells it and gives all the money to the poor. A powerful official funds the building of a synagogue. 

This inclusive ethos is reflected elsewhere - such as Luke’s technique of repeating parables or teaching, giving one example featuring a man or male characters prominently and another featuring women. 

Luke encourages us to rely on the guidance of the Holy Spirit to discern how best each of us should witness the Good News of Jesus in our lives and actions. The Spirit is an important person in the Gospel - present at key moments in the life and ministry of Jesus - and may be said to be the main ‘character’ in Acts of the Apostles, directing the mission of the church. 

May that same Spirit be our guide each day. 


Silent Reflection 


Prayer

Almighty God,

who on the day of Pentecost

sent your Holy Spirit to the disciples

with the wind from heaven and in tongues of flame,

filling them with joy and boldness to preach the gospel:

by the power of the same Spirit

strengthen us to witness to your truth

and to draw everyone to the fire of your love;

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.


Thank you for listening to this weeks Start:Stop reflection introducing the Gospel of Luke, from which most of our readings at our weekly Eucharist will be taken next year. 

Keep a check of our website for information about forthcoming services and events. Start:Stop will be back online again next week. 

Image : Roman Barabakh (Ukrainian, 1990–), Descent of the Holy Spirit, 2017. Cyanotype print, 54 × 42.2 сm. Available for sale via Iconart.