Saint Luke the Evangelist

"The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few..." Luke 10:2

 

Today, October 18, is the feast day of Saint Luke the evangelist. In the letter to the Colossians, Saint Paul called him the "beloved physician". Luke is an excellent historian and story teller. He wrote both the Gospel of Saint Luke and the Book of Acts and he is the only Gentile to have contributed to the Bible. There are many stories in his gospel that are not found in the other three, like the Parable of the Good Samaritan, and the Prodigal Son. Luke also wrote about Jesus' mother Mary, the Annunciation, and her visit to her cousin Elizabeth. In Saint Paul's letter to Timothy, Paul writes, "I have no one with me but Luke." This letter was written during Paul's 2nd and final imprisonment in Rome, when he was in bonds, closely guarded and had few visitors. Luke had accompanied Paul on his missionary journeys and it is very likely that he took care of Paul when he was beaten and stoned, and very nearly drowned. 

 

It is said that Saint Luke may have been a slave. But he used all his gifts to further the spread of the gospel. Lord, the harvest is plentiful. May each of us do our part, and make use of our gifts, so that we can be evangelizers like Saint Luke, laborers in Your vineyard.