Luke and Healing
Of the three synoptic Gospels, St. Luke’s is, I think, my favourite because for me it reveals the depth of our Lord’s humanity in a very special way – where actions often speak far louder than words – if only the people then as now were willing to use all their senses and seek understanding. But what do we know of its author whose life and ministry we remember and celebrate today.
Luke lived in the First Century AD, was a physician and companion to St. Paul who referred to him as “Luke, the beloved physician.” Their friendship was deep and long lasting and after everyone else deserts Paul in his final imprisonment and sufferings, it is Luke who remains to the end – “Only Luke is with me.” It is believed that Luke was born of Greek origin in the city of Antioch, was a Gentile and one of the earliest people to record an understanding of the love of God in a way which had relevance and meaning for all people everywhere, not just for the Jewish people. The two documents most widely attributed to Luke - the Gospel that bears his name and the Acts of the Apostles – have been highly regarded by historians and archaeologists in the past. Writing in 1970, Professor Blaiklock - Professor of Classics at Auckland University - stated in his work ‘The Archaeology of the New Testament’ that ‘the Acts of the Apostles is no shoddy product of pious imagining, but a trustworthy record ... it was the spadework of archaeology which first revealed the truth.” The Professor mentions particularly the accuracy of his detail but also the way in which Luke was able to evoke the atmosphere of the events he was describing. Luke himself explains to the reader at the beginning of his Gospel that his inspiration and information for all that he wrote came from among those “who were from the beginning eyewitnesses and servants of the Gospel”.
Luke gives us a particular perspective on Jesus life and ministry for his is the gospel of the poor and of social justice. It is Luke who tells the story of Lazarus and dire consequences for the rich man who ignored him; Luke is the one who uses ‘blessed are the poor’ rather than ‘blessed are the poor in spirit in the beatitudes. Only in Luke’s Gospel do we hear Mary’s Magnificat where she proclaims that God has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.” Luke has a very strong sense powerfully conveyed of a God of love who tips the ideologies and expectations of the world upside down – a God who will reveal himself in poverty and simplicity, a God of power who will reveal himself in weakness.
Luke evokes and heralds in a very particular way the cost of the Incarnation as he recalls the experiences of Mary both before the birth of her baby and during the early years of our Lord’s life. One gets a real sense of Mary’s fear, uncertainty, isolation and pain.
Throughout his Gospel, Luke comes across as a man who loved the poor and who deeply believed that the Kingdom of God was open to all, a kingdom that enabled people to find forgiveness and hope in the eternal love and mercy of God. Luke alone records the story of the Prodigal Son whose father is overwhelmed with joy as he sees his son turn towards home.
Only St. Luke associates the very moving story of the woman anointing Jesus feel with oil and bathing them with her tears with forgiveness; he records our Lord saying “her great love proves that her many sins are forgiven; where little has been forgiven, little love is shown.
Throughout his writings in his Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles, St. Luke teaches us much about love and forgiveness, about tolerance and justice. He shares the experience that our Lord, himself a figure of nobility, simplicity and grace, is able to draw out these same qualities in the lives of others; but more than that – those who claim to follow Christ should follow that same example and work to empower with a sense of worth and dignity all who feel themselves unloved or unloveable.
St. Luke, it is believed, was one of the 72 sent out by our Lord commissioned to teach and to heal as a means of revealing the power of God at work among his people. And it is as the Patron Saint of Physicians that St. Luke is often remembered. But we would do well to remind ourselves and others what those words ‘to heal’ mean in the context of God’s love revealed in Christ. Healing is so much more than the absence of disease – it is equally about justice, equality and harmony – signs of the kingdom of God. Let me give you an example. Henry was someone whom I knew in Suffolk – a solicitor and priest. One day when he and I were chewing the fat as they say, he told me about his father-in-law, George. Throughout his life, George had been what you might call henpecked by his wife, Phyllis. Preferring a quiet life to constant confrontation, George had taken the back seat in most things for most of his life, and the relationship between him and his wife was somewhat strained. But then George became seriously ill, and during the course of his illness, the balance of their relationship changed. Phyllis who had hitherto been abrasive and self centred, showed a patience and tenderness that George had not experienced for many, many years; she placed her needs after those of George. For his part, George grew in confidence and dignity as he began to recognise how important he was to Phyllis – someone whom she now respected. A feeling of deep love regenerated and flourished in that relationship and was felt by their children, wider family and friends. Ultimately, George died, but a tremendous sense of peace surrounded him. What had grown between him and Phyllis did not die with George; Phyllis remained a far more caring, sensitive woman who is small ways touched the lives of many.
That, I believe, is an example of what our Lord means by healing – though George died, the relationship that he and Phyllis shared became that which God intended it to be and in their newly discovered love, trust and respect for each other, those around them were enabled to glimpse the love of God at work.
St. Luke was called to make known the love and healing power of God to the people of his age, and through his wonderful writing continues that work in each generation anew. Today in particular, we thank God for his life of faith, his work and example. May God grant to each one of us that same faith and grace to share our experience of God’s healing love, forgiveness, and peace with others – wherever they and we may be.
Canon Lesley McCormack, 18th October, 2009
