Beginning of Luke's Gospel

We begin this new year with the Gospel of Saint Luke. He is the only evangelist to give his book a preface, where he describes why he has written the book: to provide an orderly account of the life of Jesus. Luke is the most prolific author of the New Testament: he wrote the longest Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles. He was a Greek from Antioch, and he became the fellow worker of Saint Paul, remaining with him till his martyrdom. Some people say that he was one of the 72 disciples. Others say that he could have been one of the two disciples of Emaus, because he is the only one who relates this passage. His symbol is a bull, because he begins his Gospel with a sacrifice.

Saint Luke was a physician, a learned man, who wrote in a clean and cultured Greek, with a richer vocabulary than the other evangelists. In his Gospel he gives us more details about medical conditions; Saint Matthew, being an accountant, talks more about money; Saint John, a fisherman, about boats and nets. Saint Paul mentions Saint Luke in his letters with affection. He was his doctor and may have extended his life. He died when he was 84, a proof that he was a good doctor.

The accounts of the time describe Saint Luke as having a good, serene, elegant character; a mature man with a balanced personality. It reminds us of our own temper. Sometimes with our friends we can be very nice, but when we arrive at home or work, our face changes, becoming like a bulldog. We excuse ourselves saying that this is the way we are. We forget that we can either improve or get worse. Old people with time can become very grumpy. It is good to ask ourselves what makes us angry. Maybe driving, at work, at home, with a particular person, when we don’t get our way. It helps us to get to know ourselves and learn from experience.

In the first reading we saw the priest Ezra reading from the book of the law, to the people who had forgotten it, after so many years of exile in Babylon. He read from early in the morning till midday and people wept. They didn’t know how to read and Ezra had to read aloud, to engrave the law in their hearts. In the Gospel we see Jesus reading from the book of Isaiah when he went back to the synagogue of Nazareth, where he grew up and learned how to read the Scriptures. It could be a good new year resolution for us, to read the Bible every day or listen to a podcast.

Luke's Gospel is called the Gospel of Mary, because he has more references about her. He wrote his Gospel during his two years in Cesarea, accompanying Saint Paul when he was in prison. It is a good example for us of how to make a good use of our time. He managed to go to see Our Lady and interview her. Scripture scholars say that the scene of the Annunciationcontains Our Lady’s words, because, even though Luke wrote in Greek, the text shows its Hebrew roots. She was the only one who knew what happened. Tradition says that he was a painter, and he was the first one to paint Our Lady. There is one painting in Rome, an icon of our Mother in Saint Mary Major, attributed to Saint Luke.

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