Luke Alone is With Me.

Homily for October 18, 2017.

The saying is so true that behind every successful person, there are so many others whose names may never be mentioned yet the roles they play in the background are indispensable. Behind the success of St. Paul as a Preacher and a great evangelizer was a man called Luke, the author of the Gospel according to Luke as well as the Acts of the Apostles. This man, Luke was not only a great writer, he was also a trained physician.

Something striking about Luke was that he was a Gentile converted to the faith by St. Paul himself. This conversion took place while Luke was treating Paul during an illness in the course of his second missionary journey. When we read the writings of Luke, the Gospel as well as the book of Acts, we cannot but see a heavy influence of St. Paul so much so that St. Jerome and St. John Chrysostom describe the Gospel of Luke as St. Paul’s Gospel.

Of all the four Gospels, Luke is a winner when it comes to powerful story telling skills. In particular Luke laid so much emphasis on Christian purity, poverty, joyfulness and for the graphic descriptions of the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Birth and Early Life of Jesus. Only a person who had the privilege of having a one on one contact with Mary herself could have been so graphic. Luke is said to have interviewed Mary in the course of his composition. In fact, Luke is credited to have painted a portrait of Mary.

Luke alone is with me! This sentence is a powerful testimonial by Paul himself of the personality and importance of Luke as far the mission is concerned. The question I ask myself is: will anyone speak well of me like this? Or will I remembered for doing harm like the case of Alexander the Coppersmith who St. Paul reports in that same first reading?

In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus said: “The harvest is rich, but the labourers are few…” I am sure if Jesus were to come to Nigeria today, he would say: “The labourers are rich but the harvest is few!!!” As a labourer for God, am I bearing fruits?

Luke was just a convert who offered himself as a labourer in the Lord’s vineyard. As a doctor, he treated persons and cured their diseases with his medical knowledge. As an Evangelist, he fed their souls with God’s word. As a writer, he used his academic training to document the Gospel of Jesus having done research and interviews from eye-witnesses. He also gave us a powerful account of the activities of the early Church in a way that a good historian would do.

Luke was a doctor yet he served in the vineyard. Let me ask you: What are your academic qualifications? Are they too high for God? Luke was not ordained a priest but look what he did for the history of Christianity! Do something today!

Let us pray: Lord Jesus, make me your instrument. Amen.

St. Luke, the Evangelist, pray for us.

Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Feast of St. Luke, the Evangelist. Bible Study: 2nd Timothy 4:10-17 and Luke 10:1-9).