Today is the feast of St.Luke, the only non jewish writer of the New Testament. He wrote both the Gospel of St. Luke and the book of Acts Of The Apostles. He was a doctor, a scholar and apparently a bit of an artist!
It is thought that Luke converted to Christianity during the first wave of evangelisation after Jesus is assumed into heaven. He is a companion of Paul and accompanies him on many of his journeys and is witness to the many happenings that Paul encounters on his missionary travels. Because of his close relationship with Paul it is logical to think that St. Luke met with the apostles and various disciples, especially when Paul was imprisoned in Rome.
We know that he was with St. Mark on a number of occasions and was well acquainted with the information that only St Mark could have supplied. In the book of Acts he knows all the details of St. Peter's delivery—what happened at the house of St. Mark's mother, and the name of the girl who ran to the outer door when St. Peter knocked. He must have met with St. Peter frequently and it is thought that he may have even helped St.Peter draw up his first epistle in Greek.
After St.Paul's death it is thought that St. Luke continued to preach the "Good News." However at sometime he must have decided to sit down and write an account of all that he had heard, seen and been told. He wrote his account to a high ranking Roman official called Theophilus, unfortunately history does not tell us who this man was or why Luke decided to write to him other than to give the official an account of everything he had already heard.
We know that he was with St. Mark on a number of occasions and was well acquainted with the information that only St Mark could have supplied. In the book of Acts he knows all the details of St. Peter's delivery—what happened at the house of St. Mark's mother, and the name of the girl who ran to the outer door when St. Peter knocked. He must have met with St. Peter frequently and it is thought that he may have even helped St.Peter draw up his first epistle in Greek.
After St.Paul's death it is thought that St. Luke continued to preach the "Good News." However at sometime he must have decided to sit down and write an account of all that he had heard, seen and been told. He wrote his account to a high ranking Roman official called Theophilus, unfortunately history does not tell us who this man was or why Luke decided to write to him other than to give the official an account of everything he had already heard.
It is believed that St. Luke died at the age of 84 in Boeotia. We are not sure wether he died a martyrs death or simply of old age. What we do know is that St. Luke left us an incredible account of Jesus and all His wonderful works. And also the beginning of the Church and it's rapid growth from those few first fishermen into the millions of followers that exist today. Luke's writings allow us to understand Jesus' mercy and compassion and His love for each one of us. So today as we celebrate this great saint let us give thanks to God for Luke and his courage to use all his talents to bring us the message of the "good news" so that we too can have the gift of faith in our own lives.
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