For the Love of Luke

“Since many have undertaken to compile a narrative about the events that have been fulfilled among us … I, too, decided, as one having a grasp of everything from the start, to write a well-ordered account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may have a firm grasp of the words in which you have been instructed.”

Luke 1:1,3-4

Our young adults’ group recently finished a year’s study of Luke’s Gospel, and I have become quite obsessed with the man and his work. Luke was a Gentile (an early outsider in the Church), and he wrote with the outsider in mind. Though it seems he never met Jesus in the flesh, he was captured by the radical Good News that God had broken into the world to set all people free from sin and death.

Luke pays close attention to the least, the lost and the typically forgotten throughout his Gospel account. Early on, we read about the elderly, childless couple Elizabeth and Zechariah, and the miracle God was bringing about in their son, John. We also read about Mary, a teenager from the middle of nowhere. He records her song, which recalls God’s uplifting nature for those the world has forgotten, herself included.

Luke records countless stories of Jesus interacting with an unexpected cast of characters. In total, Luke gives us six miracles and 18 parables that are unique to his gospel. Without it, something important would be missing from the overall story of Jesus and God’s plan of salvation.

Luke was also a doctor, which gives his writing another unique perspective. As a physician, Luke cared for the body, but as an evangelist, he also cared for the soul.

Luke makes sure we know that Jesus cares about people’s well-being through the many healings throughout his Gospel. But Luke is interested not only in physical healing, but also in how each healing affects the entire family and community.

A sickness may entail estrangement from family and others in a village. Leprosy is a clear example. Each time Jesus heals someone, it not only restores that person’s health and sense of wholeness, but also brings them back into fellowship with others.

Like any good physician, Luke knows we are not just individuals, isolated and alone — health includes belonging to one another and a sense of purpose within a community. One small miracle from Jesus can restore all of this for a person. God cares for our whole being, and that includes you as well.