Dear Friends in Christ at Holy Spirit, St. Helen’s, and St. Mary’s,

For the coming year, we will mostly be hearing from the Gospel of Luke. As you know, the four Gospels are Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. John is heard from each year mostly around Christmas and Easter. The other three are known as synoptic Gospels. This is a fancy word to say they are very similar in content and structure. In fact, if a teacher had three book reports turned in as similar to each other as the synoptic Gospels are she would probably accuse students of cheating by copying each other. Yet they each have their own unique content that gives us insights into the life and ministry of Jesus.

Luke was a disciple of Jesus who also was a companion to the Apostle Paul on his missionary journeys. Paul, who we know had health issues, refers to him as a beloved physician. Surely the Gospel preached by Paul influenced Luke’s understanding of Jesus and how he wrote about Jesus’ message. But Luke, it is believed had two special sources of information. It is commonly believed that Luke had the privilege of sitting down with none other than Mary, the mother of Jesus. Imagine sitting at her feet listening as she spoke about the Angel Gabriel, visiting her cousin Elizabeth, Jesus birth, and of course the finding of the 12 year old Jesus in the temple. That is the privileged perspective we receive in spending time with Luke.

What might have been Luke’s other source? The early Church believed it was a special encounter with Jesus. Remember towards the end of Luke’s Gospel after the crucifixion when Luke brings to our attention to two disciples who have given up and are leaving. They are going back down into the world. One of them is named the other is not. As these two walk away from Jerusalem, a third person joins them. This mysterious stranger opens up to them the meaning of what we know as the Old Testament and how it applied to Jesus. When they sat down for dinner, the stranger broke bread and their eyes were open. They realized they had been with the risen Lord. Wouldn’t it be great to have a record of their conversation? The early Church believed we do. It is called the Gospel of Luke. The unnamed disciple being Luke himself.

Fr. Ian