My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ Our Only True Lord, God, and Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.
On the 18th of October, Our Holy Orthodox Church Commemorates the
Feast-Day of the HOLY APOSTLE LUKE, THE EVANGELIST.
Apolytikion (Dismissal) Hymn. Third Tone
O Holy Apostle and Evangelist Luke, intercede with the Merciful
God that He grant unto our souls forgiveness of offences.
Kontakion Hymn. Fourth Tone
THOU with Paul didst shine thy light upon the whole world, since
thou wast a genuine disciple of the Logos/Word of God. And thou
didst drive out the gloom far hence when thou didst write the
divine Gospel of Christ God.
The holy Evangelist Luke was born in Antioch of Syria and from his youth studied the wisdom of the Greeks and the science of medicine. He became a skilled physician and an excellent iconographer, and he knew both the Greek and the Egyptian languages well. Moreover, he was thoroughly acquainted with the Law of the Jews and had visited Jerusalem.
At that time our Lord Jesus Christ dwelt in the flesh among men and sowed the seed of salvation, which fell on good ground in Luke’s heart where it sprouted up and bore fruit a hundredfold. Thus, Luke heard the teaching of truth from the lips of God Himself, and he drank therefrom a wisdom greater than that which he had learned in the schools of the Hellenes and Egyptians. He came to know the True God and to believe in Him and he began to teach others the faith as well. He was chosen to be one of THE SEVENTY APOSTLES, of whom he writes in his Gospel thus: "The Lord appointed other SEVENTY also, and sent the two and two before His face into every city and places" (Luke, ch. 10). As a member of the choir of the Apostles, Luke also went before the Lord, preparing a path before Hi by his sacred preaching and giving assurance to the people that the Messiah Whom THEY AWAITED HAD COME TO THE WORLD.
At the time of the saving Passion, when the Shepherd was struck down and the sheep scattered, the blessed Luke went about weeping and lamenting for his Lord, Who had deigned to suffer VOLUNTARILY. But although he sowee with tears, he reaped with rejoicing, for as he was walking with Cleopas to Emmaus, speaking with him and grieving over the death of their beloved Teacher and Lord, the Risen Christ Himself appeared to them. By His appearance the Lord comforted them and wiped away the tears from their eyes. As He drew near, Christ asked them, "What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad?" Through this conversation Saint Luke became the initiate and close companion of HIm Who said of Himself, "I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE" (John, ch. 14). As they walked with the Lord, Luke and Cleopas spoke with Him and drank of the ineffable Fount of Wisdom. O, how sweet the words that Saint Luke heard from the mouth of the sweetest Jesus, Who beginning with Moses and the Prophets, expounded unto them from all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself!
Later, Christ’s good disciple Luke, the initiate of divine mysteries, would instruct all the inhabitants of Thebes in Voeotia, enlightening many who were in the darkness of ignorance of God with the light of understanding of the Holy Gospel (Menaion). But first, he who was to feast with Christ in the Kingdom of God was to sup with Him at Emmaus, and the Son of God, Whom Judas denied and betrayed at the Mystical ("Last") Supper, was made known to Saint Luke in the breaking of bread. There the flame of divine love hidden in Saint Luke’s heart sprang forth, and he uttered these words: "Did not our heart burn within us, while He talked with us by the way, and while He opened to us the Scriptures? [Luke, ch. 24]. Truly, the remembrance of Christ was yet alive in him who loved the Lord with his whole heart when, fifteen years after the Saviour’s Ascension into heaven, Luke wrote most accurately of Him in his Gospel (Saint Theophylact). He wrote of that which he himself had seen and heard and which was inscribed not with a pen but with love in his heart; he also told of those things which they had witnessed who followed Christ from the beginning, before Luke. Soon after Christ’s Passion, those who had been with the Lord from the beginning related these things to Luke, as it is written in the preface to his Gospel: "They delivered those things unto us, which form the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word" (Luke, ch. 1).
Saint Luke was a partaker of the sufferings and labors of Saint Paul in the preaching of Christ’s Gospel not only to the Jews but to the Gentiles as well. He accompanied the holy Apostle Paul to Rome, as it is said in the Book of Acts Of the Apostles, which was written by Saint Luke. Paul loved Luke greatly and testified to this love in the Epistle to the Colossians, in which he says, "Luke, the beloved physician, greeteth you."
When Luke left Rome, he went to the regions of the East to preach Christ. He travelled through all of Libya and came to Egypt. He then enlightened the utmost regions of Thebaid and after this found churches in Thebes of Voeotia. There he ordained priests and deacons, and he healed those who were infirm in soul and body. Saint Luke was more than eighty years old when he peacefully reposed in the Lord.
God glorified His servant at the place where Luke’s body was laid, for as a token of his skill as a physician, an ointment could heal the eyes rained down there. Because of the various healings that took place through the prayers of the holy Apostle at his grave, the place where he was buried became well-known among the faithful.
Saint Luke’s holy relics were brought to the city to the chanting of psalms and hymns. Now there was a eunuch named Anatolius who lived in the city, and imperial chamberlain, who had lain for a long time sick upon his bed, and had spent much of his wealth on physicians. He had hoped to receive healing from them, but they could not restore his health. Therefore, when the holy relics of Saint Luke were brought into the city, Anatolus prayed fervently to the holy Apostle. He somehow arose from his couch and ordred that he be taken to the place where the Apostle’s healing casket lay. When he arrived, he touched the coffin with faith and fell down before the relics of the Saint, immediately receiving deliverance from his infirmity and perfect health. He took the casket with the holy relics upon his shoulders, and with the help of the other people who were present, carried it to the church of the Holy Apostles. The precious relics of Saint Luke were place in that church beneath the sacred altar, together with the remains of the Apostles Andrew and Timothy.
It is said that Saint Luke painted the first icon of the Most Pure Theotokos bearing in her arms the Pre-Eternal Child, and Jesus Christ. He also painted two other icons of the Mother of God and brought them to the Mother of the Lord to learn whether she was pleased with them. When she saw the, she cried out with her Most Pure lips, "MAY MY GRACE AND THAT OF HIM WHO WAS BORN OF ME BE WITH THESE ICONS!"
The holy Apostle Luke also painted on panels depictions of the holy preeminent Apostles Peter and Paul. Thus the sacred and most honorable art of hagiography, by which churches are adorned, had its beginning with him. By it God, the Mother of God, and all the Saints are glorified, and the faithful, who piously venerate their holy icons, RECEIVE SALVATION. [Resources: The Great Collection of The Lives of the Saints]
__________
"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"
– Saint John Chrysostomos
+ + +
With sincere agape in His Divine and Glorious Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+ Father George
The Eastern Orthodox Christian Ethos 