DEAR ST.LUKE

A sermon preached at S.LUKE'S QUEEN'S PARK BRIGHTON  on October 20th 2019 (Feast of S.Luke translated from October 18th.)

Whenever I am asked to preach on the feast of S.Luke, I've developed a routine of writing a letter to him from whichever parish I'm attached to.

Might sound a bit silly I know, but old habits die hard so please bear with me. It’s really only because I love his gospel so much. Alright, off we go.

Dear S.Luke,

How are you?

This year, I am particularly thrilled to be writing to you from a church which is actually dedicated to you, of which you are the patron saint. (It's the one in Queen's Park, Brighton, just next to the Pepper Pot, but of course you know that perfectly well.)

 In fact, I was invited once before to preach here on your Feast Day but that was before I joined this parish community. So I didn't think it was my place then to send greetings on behalf of this congregation. Instead I chose to tell the story of the Prodigal Son as if it was the screenplay of a 1950s Technicolor Western. I hope that was OK…………. 

Anyway here we are again this morning and now I do greet you in the name of the faithful people of this parish. Not much new this end. I’m not going to bend your ear about our “Brexit” farce. I’m sure the Company of Heaven is as sick of it as we are. I’d much rather talk about YOU.  

Luke, you wrote the most wonderful books for us.

Praise God that so many Christians have been inspired by your biography of Our Lord and your sequel – the Acts of the Apostles – a riveting account of the adventures of the early church.

You were a second generation Christian, weren’t you, a gentile, not a Jew. You probably came from Antioch in Syria - you refer to Quirinius as governor of Syria in your account of the birth of Jesus. Also, your Greek is so polished - not like the doggerel written by S.John.

You were a qualified doctor too. Your friend S.Paul calls you the beloved physician in one of his letters. I wonder if it was your medical training that gave you the instincts which make your gospel the one which emphasises the mercy of God.

Talking of S.Paul, you really were  close and faithful friends for life.

You had the privilege, excitement and danger of accompanying Paul on some of his travels, didn’t you? I thought so. The giveaway is that you keep switching excitedly from “they” to “we” at certain points in your narrative in the Acts of the Apostles.

In fact, if we read your Acts of the Apostles alongside Paul's own letters, we get a fascinating double perspective on what was happening on his missionary journeys, like a biography side by side with an autobiography.

And you were loyal and devoted to Paul right to the end. We know that because this morning, we heard as our 2nd reading a heartbreaking extract from Paul's second letter to Timothy.

This letter was written by poor, beleaguered old Paul in prison in Rome for the second time and it would not be long before he was executed. He says he is already being poured out as a libation. The time for his departure from this life has come.

He asks his beloved young disciple Timothy to get to Rome to see him if he possibly can before it is too late. Because Crescens has gone to Galatia and Titus has gone to Dalmatia. As for Demas, once a close companion, he has simply lost his faith and gone back to the lures of the world.

Then he tells Timothy Only Luke is with me.

Bless you Luke, if we may humbly say so, for staying with Paul and standing by him.

But it's high time we said something about your gospel.

First of all, a big thankyou for including famous words which have been adopted into the familiar canticles of our church liturgy, especially:

·        The Magnificat, the words spoken by Mary in your very first chapter when she visits her cousin Elizabeth

·        The Nunc Dimittis, the words spoken by old Simeon in your second chapter when he witnessed the consecration of Jesus as a first born son in the Temple

·We will be singing all these words tonight set to music at Choral Evensong!       

Secondly, a huge thankyou for making a central feature of your gospel God's inclusion of the Gentiles in His plan of salvation.

You are the evangelist who draws especial attention to the fact that God's redemption of humanity includes everyone, not just the select nation of Israel.

Perhaps there is an obvious reason for this - you yourself were a Gentile. But do you realize (I suppose you must do - silly question) that you are the only non-Israelite to have composed not one but two books which have been included in the collection of Scripture known as the bible?

Quite apart from that, your unique picture of God's compassion on His beloved children is so desperately needed in the angry, ugly, confused and lost world of today.

Luke, I cannot help feeling you must be such a source of strength and inspiration to Pope Francis in his embattled attempts to make more Christ-like the current church of Rome.

Thirdly, and most importantly, we thank you for bringing Jesus so alive in your writing. In your researches, you managed to gather together more, and more memorable, stories about what Jesus said than did than Matthew, Mark or John.

Your Crucifixion scene is heartbreaking. It is thanks only to you that we have heard the immortal words from the cross as the nails went in “Forgive them Father for they know not what thy do” and to the penitent thief “Today you will be with me in paradise.”

But your speciality is the detail of Christ’s earlier active ministry, and in your description of it, you show us so graphically that, for those who repent, their sins are already forgiven by a loving heavenly Father.  

The stuff which is only to be found in your gospel is simply priceless.

You alone draw for us the unforgettable picture of Jesus the local carpenter’s boy standing up in the Nazareth synagogue reading the lesson from Isaiah and then shutting the book (what a sharply observed detail) and calmly announcing that the sacred words referred to Himself.

You alone bring us the stories of

·     the unjust or dishonest steward, making us scratch our heads about what the kingdom of heaven can possibly be like

·     the prodigal son, and the uncomfortable, looming presence of the bitter elder son

·     Dives and Lazarus, the obscene gap between rich and poor and the spiritual dangers of ignoring it

·     the healing of the ten lepers, the precious attitude of gratitude

·     the Pharisee and the publican, humility versus pride in (of all things) prayer

and last but not least

·     the parable of the good Samaritan, shaming us by the goodness and generosity of the despised foreigner.

 At this point, Luke, can I just mention that I recently tripped and fell badly in the Lewes Road? Luckily no serious harm done and no need of assistance, but (would you know? you probably would!) all the passers by who stopped in genuine concern and offered me any assistance I needed were of what we now call "Asian origin".

 'Nuff said. And probably too long a letter already. So that's it for now. Must dash and get on with celebrating the Mass.

Hoping, as they say, this "finds you as it leaves us". We'll be writing again, God willing, before long.

Meanwhile, much love from all at your very own church in Queen's Park.