October 18 is the feast day of
St. Luke the Evangelist who is also known as Luke the Physician because of the
greeting from “Luke the beloved physician” in Colossians 4:14 . Because of
this single reference, St. Luke is the patron saint of doctors and surgeons.
Right
now doctors throughout the world are being called to watch closely for signs of
the Ebola virus in their patients as an epidemic in west Africa threatens to
engulf the world. The American
government through the CDC is calling for vigilance in observing the behavior
of anyone who has even the remotest chance of having come in contact with an
infected person. Thousands of deaths in Africa
and one (so far) in America
are enough. We don’t want a repeat of
the great 1919-1920 Spanish influenza epidemic that killed around 20 million
people worldwide, most of whom were young adults. (My maternal grandfather’s first wife died
then, leaving him with two little girls.)
In 1919 and now in 2014 keen observation is the key to containing the
epidemic so infected persons can be quarantined and treated.
As
a physician, Luke would have had a keen eye for observation which is what made
him such a good writer of his gospel and the Acts of the Apostles. As he began his gospel, Luke wrote, “it
seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past,
to write an orderly account for you…….” (Luke 1:3). Luke, of course, was not one of the original
followers of Jesus and thus not an eyewitness to Our Lord’s ministry (Luke 1:2)
nevertheless, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, he wrote an inspired and
authoritative gospel account filled with many details that we find nowhere
else.
For
Christians, it is the inspiration of the Holy Spirit that is most important
when reading his gospel or Acts (2nd Timothy 3:16 ), but where did he get his information? There are old stories that much of it came
from St. Mary who “pondered all these things in her heart” (Luke 2:19 ) and was the only human being to have
observed Jesus through his whole life from birth to death and
resurrection. She was also present with
the apostles at Pentecost, but as Luke wrote more and more about the Acts of
the Apostles, he eventually came to rely on his own experience, for in Acts
16:11 he switches from the third person (they did this or that) to the first
person (“from Troas we made a direct voyage”).
Not
many of us are physicians or writers, but we all would do well to follow the
example of Luke in observing closely what Jesus said and did as recorded in the
Bible. There are many things that are
said to be the will of God and many strange things that are sometimes
attributed to Jesus or to divine inspiration, but in turning to the Bible the
true Word of God is revealed. As Luke
himself wrote in his introduction, his purpose was that “you may know the truth
concerning the things of which you have been informed.” (Luke 1:4)
When
we read the Gospels, we encounter Jesus as the man who took the children in his
arms and blessed them, who had a deep concern for the poor and needy, who
reached out to heal the sick and suffering, and who rose from the dead to live
forever. As much as Luke the Physician
was concerned about healing the body, more than anything else Luke the
Evangelist desired all to find spiritual healing through faith in Jesus Christ.
Jesus
himself said, “those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who
are sick; I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to
repentance.” So have a consultation
today with the Great Physician himself (Jesus) in the writings of St. Luke and
in the other books of the Bible. You
will find healing for what ails you.
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