In the 1970s, Luke Skywalker came onto the screen for the first time in the epic science fiction film, “Star Wars.” Battling bad guys in the Star Wars franchise, we ultimately find out that Luke’s foe Darth Vader was actually his father, and his “objet d’amour,” Princess Leia, was actually his sister. This Luke had quite a family.
Then, in the 1980s, the world was captivated – for a brief but mind-numbing period – by two characters on the TV soap opera “General Hospital.” They were Luke and Laura, an unlikely pair who were at the heart of a saga that involved betrayal, a fake drowning death and a plan to send the world into a second ice-age. This, of course, ended in a wedding episode watched by millions. This Luke became a soap opera legend.
Of course, there was also Luke Duke, from the TV’s “Dukes of Hazzard” – one of two redneck brothers who, according to the theme song, have “been in trouble with the law since they day they was born.” This Luke was always mixing it up with the law.
However, the most interesting Luke that I can think of is not Luke Skywalker, Luke from General Hospital, Luke Perry or even Luke Duke. Rather it is St. Luke, the apostle and evangelist whose feast day we celebrate on Oct. 18. Good St. Luke had an interesting life and legacy that still keeps him on the minds of folks nearly 2,000 years after he died. I don’t know if any of the other Lukes I mentioned will show such endurance.
Beginner’s Luke
So, who is St. Luke? Well, as most any Christian can tell you, he is one of the fab four Gospel writers, i.e., Matthew, Mark, Luke and John (who are to Scripture what John, Paul, George and Ringo were to rock music). Because of his writing of a Gospel, St. Luke is given the honorific of evangelist, but he was also an apostle.
While Luke’s Gospel is important to us, this article is going to focus more on the person of St. Luke rather than on his Gospel. That being said, St. Luke’s Gospel is significant as it uniquely gives us the story of the Annunciation, the Good Samaritan, the beautiful Canticles of Mary, Zechariah and Simeon, and much of what we know as the common elements of the story of Christmas. It also traces Christ’s genealogy back to Adam rather than Abraham, showing that he is the savior for all mankind.
In addition to writing his gospel, Luke is also ascribed as the author of the Acts of the Apostles, a book of the New Testament that picks up where the Gospel of St. Luke leaves off. The Gospel of Luke and Acts effectively forge one written work that tells the story of Christ and the early church.
Gentile on my mind
St. Luke was born in the first century to a Greek family in the ancient city of Antioch. As a Greek, St. Luke was a Gentile (non-Jew); he was the only Gentile among the four Gospel writers. Racking up frequent-flyer miles, he traveled with St. Paul to both Jerusalem and Rome. It is asserted that Luke wrote his Gospel while in Rome, and dedicated it to Theophilus, the governor of Achaea (in western Greece), who had recently converted to Christianity (see Luke 1:3-4).
St. Luke: By the book
St. Paul references St. Luke several times in his Epistles; he identifies him as physician (Colossians 4:14), a Gentile (Colossians 4:10-11), and only apostle abiding with him during his imprisonment in Rome (2 Timothy 4:11). Some of the early church fathers assert that Luke is the “brother” that Paul speaks of in 2 Corinthians 8:18 and that he was one of the 72 disciples that Christ sent out into the world “like lambs among wolves” (Luke 10:1-12).
Luke the painter:
Easel-ly explained
In artistic representation, St. Luke is often shown as a painter or iconographer who is painting an image of Mary. This identification comes from the tradition that St. Luke painted an image of the Blessed Mother during her lifetime. As it is told, Mary was so pleased with the painting that she said to him, “May the grace of him who was born of me be upon this image.” It is said that he then went on to paint other images of Mary and the Apostles. It is because of this venerable tradition that St. Luke is honored as the patron saint of painters and iconographers.
Cool hand Luke
As referenced earlier in this article, St. Luke is identified in Scripture as a physician; he was the “Marcus Welby, M.D.” of his day. (For those under 40: think of Dr. Gregory House. For those over 60, think Dr. Ben Casey.) This identification as a doctor led to St. Luke being honored as patron saint of physicians. However, there is another basis on which St. Luke is connected with healing; it comes from the Coptic tradition. As it is told, St. Luke preached the faith in Rome, evangelizing people away from the pagan religion of the Roman Empire and converting them to Christianity. He was so successful with his evangelization that his detractors accused him of using sorcery to win people over. The Roman emperor was furious at St. Luke for spreading the Gospel, so he had St. Luke and his compatriots arrested and hauled before him. The emperor accused St. Luke of sorcery and asked him, “How long will you lead people astray?” St. Luke retorted, “I am not a sorcerer, but an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Well, that comment went over like a hot dog at a vegetarian convention. The emperor ordered St. Luke’s hand – with which he had written the Gospel – to be cut off. And so it was. But, St. Luke then picked up his severed hand and reattached it – to the amazement of all present – showing the power of God to them. I guess St. Luke really took the admonition, “physician, heal thyself” to heart. In any event, it is because of this incident that Luke is especially understood as the patron of physicians.
Lions and oxen
and eagles, oh, my!
The writers of the four Gospels are represented in art as follows: St. John is shown as an eagle, St. Matthew as a man, St. Mark as a lion and St. Luke as an ox (usually winged). These bases of these images are taken from “the four living creatures” as identified in Ezekiel 1:4-10, which was seen as a form of prefiguration for the four evangelists.
Now, you might wonder, “Why on earth is St. Luke shown as an ox?” Was this meant as snide commentary about him being chubby or not so intelligent? Nope! It actually has to do with the manner in which he begins his Gospel. You see, in ancient Judaism, oxen were commonly used for sacrifices by the priests of the temple.
In St. Luke’s Gospel, the first holy man connected to Christ who is mentioned “was a priest named Zechariah” (Luke 1:5). Zechariah, who was the father of St. John the Baptist, was a priest, thus he was one who offered sacrifices (commonly oxen).
Extending an olive branch?
After having evangelized in Italy, Turkey, Libya and Egypt, St. Luke returned to Greece where he established more churches. In Achaia, there were those practitioners of the pagan religions that did not like the presence of Christianity, and St. Luke would bear the brunt of their wrath. His opponents captured him, and at age 84, he received martyr’s death by being crucified on an olive tree.
Father Lentini is pastor of Holy Cross Parish in Dover and Immaculate Conception Parish in Marydel, Md.
